Our Team

John Barelli

President / Founder

John Barelli founded Pure Solutions, Inc., a manufacturer’s representative company focused on water treatment for large industrial users in 1989. Sensing a void in the marketplace, John renamed the company Surplus Management, Inc. in 1998 and narrowed its focus on investment recovery. In 1999, John rebranded the company as WaterSurplus and rolled out a new website. In 2010, WaterSurplus purchased and renovated its current headquarters and now proudly employs over sixty people working to replenish the world’s water and serve customer needs. Through thirty-five years of continued investment in the industry, John has established a foundation for consistent growth and more recently, rapid innovation with our excellent team and industry partners. Prior to starting his own business, John worked as a Technical Salesman and Applications Engineer at Illinois Water Treatment. John graduated Summa Cum Laude with a B.S. in Chemistry and Biology from Northern Illinois University.

Jim Ryan

Executive Vice President

Jim Ryan has 30+ years of experience in developing and managing public infrastructure projects. Prior to joining WaterSurplus, Jim served as COO for Rock Valley College and as Capital Development manager and City Administrator for the City of Rockford, Illinois. Jim has extensive experience in infrastructure planning and development, public-private financing, grant writing, and operations management.

Dileep Agnihotri, PhD

Chief Technology Officer & Beverage Division Lead

Dr. Dileep Agnihotri is an expert in a multitude of water related technologies such as water-chemistry, membrane-based ultrafiltration or reverse-osmosis, high-recovery and high-efficiency beverage water-rooms and produced water treatment. At WaterSurplus, Dr. Agnihotri serves multiple team leader roles including application and process engineering, beverage division operations, technology innovations, research, and product development.

Prior to WaterSurplus, Dileep founded Advanced Hydro, Inc. where he developed and commercialized a novel membrane technology and integrated turn-key UF/RO systems wastewater treatment in the oil and gas industry and on/off-shore seawater desalination. He has also served as a member of the Board of Directors for Thermo Energy, LLC and a principal at 21 Ventures, LLC, providing capital for technology ventures. He also spent time as a Director at Jordan Valley Semiconductors Inc., where he managed technology and applications development along with strategic and technical product marketing. Dr. Agnihotri holds a PhD in Nuclear Chemistry and a MS in Physical Chemistry from the University of Rochester, NY. He also earned a MS degree in Physics (Electronics major) from Agra University. He is widely published with 30+ papers, 1000+ citations, and 12+ pending or issued worldwide patents.

Warren Mathieu

Vice President New Products Division

Warren Mathieu, an expert in reverse osmosis water treatment and ion exchange resin systems, is the Vice President of the New Equipment Division at WaterSurplus. Since joining WaterSurplus in 2000, Warren has developed partnerships with original equipment manufacturers allowing WaterSurplus to stock and showcase hundreds of new products.

Prior to joining WaterSurplus, Warren was Regional Sales Manager at both U.S. Filter and Sybron Chemicals working in Sales and Accounting at Illinois Water Treatment. Warren earned a B.S. in Business Administration and Accounting at Rockford University.

Jim Groose

Senior Vice President Municipal Water Treatment

Jim Groose is the Senior Vice President of Municipal Water Treatment at WaterSurplus. He is an expert in water chemistry, groundwater treatment, municipal water treatment, activated carbon, and PFAS removal. Jim brings his extensive experience in developing successful programs for the sale and rental of water treatment equipment to WaterSurplus. Jim is responsible for overseeing all municipal sales for the company. Jim also developed WaterSurplus’s OxiPlus line of NSF-61-certified filter media that provide superior treatment properties for filtration applications.

Steven Johnson

Senior Vice President of Operations

Steven Johnson, an experienced engineer with over 30 years of experience working within the processes and water treatment industry, is the Senior Vice President of Operations at WaterSurplus. Since joining WaterSurplus in 2012, Steven has brought internal infrastructure and procedural processes to business operations and engineering, increasing production efficiency and improving quality. Steven oversees all operations and works with the production staff on refurbished and new equipment, along with managing plant safety. Steven held several management positions at US Filter/Illinois Water Treatment including Manager of Market Development Specialty Separations Group, Manager of Application Engineering, and Manager of Engineering of the Warren N.J. facility. Steven graduated Summa Cum Laude with a B.S. in Industrial Technology with an emphasis in Product Development.

Ricardo Bernal

Senior Vice President Business Development & Sales

Ricardo Bernal is the Senior Vice President of Business Development & Sales. His deep experience in the water industry spans more than 25 years and encompasses engineering, product management, project finance, and business strategy, with deep technical expertise in water/wastewater, desalination, biosolids, and PFAS. Immediately prior to joining WaterSurplus, Ricardo served as Senior Vice President of Project Development & Strategy for Heartland Water Technology, where he was responsible for overseeing and managing all commercial aspects of the company’s projects under Design-Build/Build-Own-Operate and recurring revenue models, from inception through commercial operations. He also spearheaded business development efforts for new markets and technologies within the water business. Earlier, he served as the O&M Sales Manager for Jacobs/Ch2mHill’s Water Business Group and as Managing Director for Abengoa’s Industrial Water Division. As a Senior Project Developer at GE Water, Ricardo developed multi-million-dollar desalination and water reuse projects globally and drove business development across GE Water’s product lines. Mr. Bernal began his career in the water industry at Ionics, Incorporated, where he served as the LAM Sales Manager and MBR Product Manager. Ricardo holds a Master of Business Administration degree with a concentration in finance from Boston College and a Bachelor of Science in Civil & Environmental Engineering from Pontificia Universidad Xaveriana.

Jeff Anderson

Vice President Surplus Equipment Division

Jeff Anderson, highly experienced in water treatment equipment, RO membranes, and resin regeneration, is the Vice President of the Surplus Equipment Division at WaterSurplus. Since joining WaterSurplus in 2002, Jeff has been buying and selling surplus water treatment equipment across a wide range of market segments. His customer service skills have helped WaterSurplus develop its valuable network of over 10,000 water professionals in more than 80 countries around the world.

Jon Reinke

Vice President Rentals & Site Services

Jon Reinke, an expert in water treatment with over 30 years of experience, has served as Vice President of Rentals & Site Services at WaterSurplus since 2017. Jon is responsible for overseeing the sales, applications engineering, and execution of all rental and service projects. He also focuses on the development and implementation of business strategy for these divisions.

Prior to joining WaterSurplus, Jon owned an independent water treatment consulting firm for twenty years. He was also an Applications and Project Engineer at US Filter and Interlake Water Systems and was a Mechanical Designer/Mechanical Engineer at Illinois Water Treatment. Jon earned a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Northern Illinois University.

Ian Tonner

Vice President Engineering Division

Ian is an expert in chemical engineering with extensive experience in the design of turnkey water treatment systems for municipalities, major bottlers, and a variety of industrial applications. He is a registered engineer in the states of Wisconsin and Colorado and holds a patent for a reverse osmosis monitoring technology. Ian is responsible for setting company-wide engineering standards,  procedures, and department goals. In particular, he works with mechanical, electrical, and project management department heads to set priorities and workloads. Ian works with department leads to ensure projects are delivered on time, on budget, and as sold. He works closely with the sales team to provide compelling engineered systems to meet customers’ needs and expectations.

Mike Piercy

Vice President of Project Management

Mike is a seasoned professional with extensive experience and expertise in project planning and management of complex infrastructure projects. As the Vice President of Project Manager at WaterSurplus, Mike possesses over 25 years of extensive experience in infrastructure planning and design of roadway, water, and sewer system planning and construction. Mike is responsible for project management for all major water treatment projects for the company after the contract award. From procurement, contractor and subcontractor coordination, project budgeting and scheduling, to project implementation on-site, Mike’s attention to detail, problem-solving skills, and customer service focus have resulted in high satisfaction amongst our customers for bringing in projects to completion on time, under/or at budget, and fully operational.

Kevin Treptow

Director of Operations - Rental & Site Services

Kevin is a professional with an extensive background in water treatment. Throughout his career Kevin has held the positions of Electrical Engineer, Process Development Engineer, Senior Project Manager, and Manufacturing Manager prior to becoming the Director of Operations for Rental and Site Services. Kevin’s past project experience, attention to detail, problem-solving skills and focus on customer needs has helped provide satisfaction for our customers. Kevin is responsible for overseeing the operations of our rental fleet and site services and works with all divisions of the company to help clients meet their  water treatment needs in the industrial and municipal markets. Kevin and his rental and service teams work to ensure that WaterSurplus equipment in the field is delivering for our customers, whether it is a permanent installation or a short-term rental.

Bryan Kumfer

Director of PFAS Solutions

Bryan brings a wealth of experience and knowledge in pilot systems, filtration applications, and wastewater treatment. Prior to joining Watersurplus, Bryan was employed by Siemens from 2003-2023, most recently as the Pilot Plant Manager. He also held positions with Siemens as an Oxidation Specialist and Research & Development Chemist. Bryan is responsible for conducting pilot studies for Municipal projects, executing site service work, performing filter inspections and writing reports, and PFAS equipment startup. His background in oil/water separation technologies (DAF, API, CGE hydrocyclone), ceramic and Teflon membrane, and wet air oxidation treatment on industrial wastewater adds to our company knowledge base. His experience in developing conceptual treatment systems, running pilot studies, and working with customers is very valuable. Bryan has a Bachler’s Degree in Chemistry from Northland College in Ashland, WI.