When you ask Bill Harker what makes CAP a unique place to work, a smile slowly creeps across his face before he responds.
“I don’t know because I’ve never really worked anywhere else,” he says.
It’s a surprising response. Harker started his CAP career in 1990 as a maintenance worker at Mark Wilmer Pumping Plant near his home in Parker. He was 19 years old, a newlywed with a young daughter. Even at CAP, where employees tend to stay a while, Harker is rare. He has spent more than 2/3 of his life working at CAP and has grown professionally. He started as a maintenance worker, completed an electrical apprenticeship program, worked a journeyman, retired, came back and recently became a supervisor.
To be fair, CAP wasn’t technically his first job. In 1990, Wilson Phillips topped the pop charts and Harker was working seven days a week pulling multiple shifts at multiple jobs, just trying to get by and provide for his family.
“I was doing some work for a neighbor who worked at CAP and when he saw how much I was working and that I was basically willing to do any type of work, he suggested I apply for a maintenance worker position,” said Harker. “I didn’t know CAP existed so ending up here wasn’t intentional in the beginning.”
He might not have known about CAP, but once he joined the team, he knew it was a good opportunity where he could grow and make a career. Harker dug in and spent his first nine years working the night shift. In 1999, he applied for and was selected for an electrical apprenticeship.
“I was drawn to electrical work early on,” said Harker. “I worked well and fit in with the electricians at CAP and I found the work very interesting.”
The next five years were trying, but he finished his apprenticeship and was officially a journeyman. His first assignment was Waddell Pump/Generating Plant. It was a great place to get his feet wet, but Harker knew where he really wanted to be: protective relays. He’d worked with the relay crew during his apprenticeship and was fascinated with the work.
For those who don’t know, a relay is a low-voltage device that monitors electrical conditions and if any of those conditions exceed set criteria, it shuts down the electrical current to ensure equipment isn’t damaged. It’s a critical component to ensure the reliability of the CAP system. At CAP, most relays are in the control rooms of the 14 pumping plants that span the 336-mile system, which means the crew travels … a lot.
Harker hit the road each week to maintain, test, repair and calibrates protective relaying equipment across the system. But he had a plan. By the time he was 50, he would be eligible for retirement, so he and his wife decided he would retire and then work as a contracted traveling electrician, similar to a traveling nurse, so they could visit different parts of the country. In 2020, he retired from CAP and was ready to embark upon his next adventure.
“I was supposed to retire and then together, we would travel so I could work, that was the plan,” said Harker. “We were going to travel to different parts of the country, and I would work there until the job was over and, on the weekends, we could explore the area.”
But then COVID happened, and things changed.
“After COVID happened, my first ‘traveling’ assignment was in Phoenix, working for SRP,” said Harker.
That wasn’t part of the plan.
But they adjusted and after a year, Harker noticed CAP had an opening on the relay crew. COVID was still in full swing, so traveling looked unlikely. And, he had been a contractor long enough to clearly see all the things that make CAP an amazing place to work – four-day work weeks, good benefits and talented co-workers, just to name a few – so he decided to return.
The six-member team welcomed him back and for Harker, it was a happy homecoming. Plus, he had new experiences that gave him a new perspective.
“I had spent my entire career at CAP and had little to compare it to, but in just one short year, I was able to see more clearly all the things that are important to me and CAP — an incredible safety culture, trust and responsibility,” said Harker.
In January 2024, Harker made his next career move, becoming supervisor of the relay crew.
“I had worked on the crew for such a long time that there were some projects I wanted to see finished, like upgrading work procedures and perfecting some databases,” said Harker. “I thought that becoming a supervisor would allow me to dedicate some time to accomplishing those before retiring for the final time.”
A second retirement isn’t coming anytime soon, said Harker. Although six of his seven children are grown and gone, he is still intent on working hard for his family, leading his highly skilled crew and being part of an organization that brings water to 80% of the state.
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