Julie Nahrgang is the Executive Director of the Water Environment Association of Texas and Texas Association of Clean Water Agencies. Julie has worked and volunteered with WEAT since 2009. She received a Bachelor’s of Science in Economics and a Bachelor’s of Arts in Sociology from Trinity University in San Antonio and received a Lifetime Honorary Studentship to the Student Union at the London School of Economics. She has worked with nonprofits since 2003 as an organizer, manager, program developer, legislative liaison, and currently as an Executive Director. As such, Julie oversees all of the legislative and regulatory changes pertaining to the clean water sector. She monitors bills, testified for and against wastewater related legislation, and represents WEAT and TACWA in a number of TCEQ and TWDB stakeholder areas.

She is active with a number of community nonprofits and water aid organizations including the Gazelle Foundation.

Top Takeaways:

We talk about workforce and the many initiatives WEAT and WEF are doing to tackle the issue, but Julie also raised a thoughtful point on how important language is to how we brand ourselves and market ourselves to the next gen of water professionals.
The Pure Water Brew Alliance is such an important and unique way to open the conversation about reuse water with not only our customers but with the local entrepreneurs in our communities.
Julie gives us some behind the scenes intel on WEATs rebranding, her team’s process and WHY it was so important to them to do so.
We end with a discussion on building diversity in the water workforce, some of the great steps already being taken, and how we have to build our allies across demographics to truly build the movement towards change in the right direction.

Shownotes:

“Water chose me.” Julie’s water story.

What’s the biggest benefit to a career in wastewater that we aren’t communicating well enough? WEAT/TAWWA Operator Springboard Program, workforce, and innovation in resource recovery)

Hiring and maintaining a skilled workforce is foundational to the mandate and mission of protecting human health and the environment.

Brookings Institute publication, 2018

The national median age of the workforce across all sectors is about 42 years old.
The median age of plant operators is 46 years old.
Plant operators will retire in greater numbers in one fell swoop

The US Government Accountability Office:

Estimates 37% of all water utility workers and 31% of all wastewater utility workers will retire in the next decade.

Tout the benefits of a career in the water sector:

Nationally there is a lower educational barrier to entry with comparatively higher wage rate in the 10th and 25% percentile meaning the vast majority of jobs in our sector pay a more livable wage than other sectors.
We offer careers that are somewhat buffered from external shocks. Everyone will always need clean water services.
Be a part of something bigger than yourself. We are THE enterprise. You’re protecting human health and the environment.

The evolution of the semantics around wastewater treatment, it’s no longer waste, it’s resource recovery plants. The folks that work there aren’t wastewater operators, they’re clean water workers.

A power plant isn’t called a coal plant, it’s called a power plant because of what it produces. Our plants produce clean water and they recover resources so we need to be intentional about the language we use because it also goes back to how we market ourselves and these careers.

Operator Springboard Program, WEAT/WEF, developed in the YP group at the WEF level by some Texas. Three-pronged approach, high school curriculum program, paid operator internship program, and veterans apprenticeship program.

Prepares high school kids to take their class D upon graduation and graduate with that license to make them employable. They also have a direct relationship with the city o...