James Farina

James Farina serves as the Southeast Regional WTP Chief Water Treatment Operator for Seminole County’s Utilities Operations, where he plays a pivotal role in securing the chemical and operational inputs essential to municipal water treatment processes. Responsible for ensuring the reliability and compliance of water softening and disinfection systems, Farina directly influences procurement decisions for specialty reagents, filtration media, and corrosion inhibitors used in treatment plants. His position bridges technical operations and acquisition strategy, ensuring that procured materials meet stringent Florida Department of Environmental Protection standards and support continuous operational uptime. He routinely manages direct purchases and blanket purchase agreements for mission-critical consumables that sustain water quality and infrastructure integrity. Farina collaborates with a network of merchant wholesalers and specialty chemical distributors who provide certified water treatment inputs, including sodium hypochlorite, polyaluminum chloride, and ion-exchange resins. While no single contractor dominates his procurement portfolio, he maintains consistent vendor relationships with firms holding ANSI/NSF certifications and demonstrated supply chain reliability. His working pattern emphasizes technical compatibility, just-in-time delivery, and batch traceability, favoring vendors with proven experience in public water system compliance. Farina’s procurement approach reflects a strong preference for open competition, with 100% of acquisitions conducted without set-aside designations. He does not prioritize 8(a), HUBZone, or SDVOSB set-asides, instead focusing on technical qualification and regulatory compliance as primary selection criteria. His contracting patterns indicate a preference for established suppliers with demonstrated capacity to meet stringent water treatment specifications over socioeconomic classifications. His primary procurement focus lies in NAICS 424690 (Other Chemical and Allied Products Merchant Wholesalers) and 424490 (Other Grocery and Related Products Merchant Wholesalers), reflecting his need for bulk chemical delivery and ancillary treatment supplies. He specializes in procuring industrial-grade water treatment chemicals, pH adjusters, coagulants, and lab testing reagents, demonstrating deep expertise in chemical dosing systems, scale inhibition, and disinfection byproduct control under Safe Drinking Water Act guidelines.