When he enrolled in the University of Florida’s environmental engineering program, Kelly Randall had tree-hugging in mind.

He had no idea then that he would ever work in water distribution.

“I remember telling one of my professors in a class my senior year that I didn’t need this pump information, because I’m not going to get involved in pumps and stuff,” Randall said. “Little did I know...”

Today, Randall has spent 22 years “involved in pumps and stuff” and is the director of Gainesville’s Public Utilities Department.

And though his job does not involve long embraces with “champion” trees, it certainly is the result of the nation’s newly discovered need to protect its environment.

When the polluted Cuyahoga River caught fire in Ohio in 1969, the United States responded by passing water quality legislation and creating the Environmental Protection Agency. Universities started creating environmental engineering programs. Randall enrolled in one of the first of those programs at the University of Florida.

Randall said when he graduated from the university, many Georgia municipalities were still dumping raw sewage into rivers and streams. But today, Randall is the director of a utility that is consistently recognized for releasing well-treated wastewater into Lake Lanier.

“Compared to what it was in the ’60s and ’70s, its (water quality) in much better shape today,” Randall said.

Making sure the city utility releases clean water into local rivers and streams also comes in handy when Randall is off the clock. The Washington, D.C.-area native says he is passionate about fly-fishing and regularly sneaks off to spend the day fishing. He has a trip planned to Mexico to fly-fish for bonefish, tarpon and permit, which he calls the “Holy Grail of fly-fishing,” in the flats.

 “I can go fly-fishing all day and not talk to anybody and stay interested all day,” Randall said.

And next to his daughter, an engineering student at Georgia Tech, the fish Randall catches are his pride and joy. He will not hesitate to pull up a photograph of the 42-inch striper he caught in Lake Lanier on his computer, and says he hopes to have a replica made of it someday.

“Everybody has to have something,” Randall said. “Some people garden. Some people fish.”