Dragonfly Pond Works Careers: Meet Juan, Dredging Expert

Dragonfly Pond Works Career Feature:

Juan is a Dragonfly Pond Works Florida Dredging Crew Leader! Juan specializes in pump dredging and shoreline restoration. He leads his crews to success through his expertise and first-hand experience.

Tell us about your background and how you came to work with Dragonfly?

I have over 12 years of experience in the dredging industry. I started dredging while helping a friend on the weekends dredging boat docks to make them deeper. I loved being in the water and watching all of the beautiful wildlife around us all day. I decided to make dredging my career and began working with a small company. With this company I continued dredging and gained experience fixing eroded banks on ponds and lakes. After some time, I heard about a new pond and lake management company in town, Dragonfly Pond Works. I looked into Dragonfly and liked what they had to offer, a good steady job, year-round work, good benefits, and a chance to move up in the company.

What does your average day look like?

I work 8 plus hours, five days a week. We always have different lakes and ponds to work on, so the scenery changes and so does the wildlife. I have a dredging partner and one of us is always in the water working the pump dredge, while the other person is on the shoreline managing the geobag system. Geobags are made of a geotextile material and are stacked over the eroded shoreline. We pump sediment from the lake bottom into the geobag. The individual on the shoreline makes sure the sediment is filling the bag correctly. Once we finish filling the geobags, the sediment is left to dry. One of our other crews then grades the dried material over the eroded shoreline to create a safe slope. Matting and sod are then secured over the sediment to complete the natural look.

Juan manages the geobag system as sediment is dredged from the lake bottom and fills the bag for Dragonfly’s lake shoreline restoration process.

How have your industry related skills developed while working for Dragonfly?

Dragonfly has taught me a lot about safety, people skills, and many different trades. I have learned how to operate heavy equipment. Dragonfly has also provided me managing experience as a crew leader.

What has been your favorite project?

One of our sites at a Florida residential waterfront resort has been my favorite so far. The property has hundreds of acres of lakes and we completed shoreline restoration through pump dredging on 5000 feet of lakefront in just over three months. All of the lakes were really nice and clear. You could literally see the fish swimming by your feet. This was also the most challenging project. A bad hurricane damaged a lot of the shoreline in front of waterfront properties. The shoreline was continuing to erode up the properties towards the luxury homes. I had to plan and execute a plan to restore this very valuable property and make sure no additional damage was caused by our access with equipment. We successfully completed the project and the property owners are able to safely enjoy their waterfront again.

What do you like most about working for Dragonfly?

I like that working for Dragonfly is year-round and that the staff is amazing. I enjoy getting to see the beautiful wildlife and scenery while working.

What would you like to tell future employees?

Dragonfly really cares about their employees. Management makes sure that we have everything we need to do our jobs safely and in a timely manner. I think it is an awesome company that continues to grow, with great managing staff and employees.

Learn more about our Team and Dragonfly Pond Works Careers.

Florida Lake Dredging, Shoreline Restoration, and More!

Learn more about our low-impact dredging and shoreline restoration process.

Subscribe to our newsletter to receive informative and engaging news delivered right to you inbox.

Like/Follow: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn

Dragonfly Pond Works provides stormwater, pond, and lake management throughout the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic. Our team has the certification, formal education, and expertise to manage any pond, lake, or stormwater system. We have decades of experience proving to clients that we are the aquatic management experts.