2022 Year in Review

Melissa Noble | Past President

Happy 2023 from the Women of Water Board. We hope you are looking forward to all the exciting and engaging activities we have planned for this new year. Before we sprint into 2023, I’d like to remind everyone of what we did in 2022. 

On January 25 we learned about the severe storm events in Salt Lake City from Mike Guymon, Salt Lake City Public Utilities.

In February, you’ll recall we had a fantastic virtual discussion on Envision Utah's 3-part series about the state of water in Utah. We focused on part 3: Utah’s strategic water plan.

March 24 we heard from Bob Thompson, Salt Lake County Watershed Section Manager, about measuring snowpack and an update on how the State was doing in the water year. You’ll recall it wasn’t a super stellar water year (unlike what we’ve got going on this year!)

April was our annual Legislative Update. We learned what occurred during the legislative session that affects water. There was a lot to discuss as 2022 was quite the water year!

In May we had our very first in-person gathering since the pandemic began. We met at Psomas and heard Scott Baxter discuss his kayaking adventures circumnavigating the Great Salt Lake at its lowest water level so far in 2022.

June was a pivotal month in the Women of Water organization! Our annual election was completed and you voted for our new President, Tamaran Woodland, and our new Secretary, Jessica Cooper. We want to thank the past president, Melissa Noble, and the past secretary, Jamie Bahn, for their service on the board. Both Melissa and Jamie are still members of the WOW board. Melissa is serving as the Past President, and Jamie is serving as the Activities Director.

The activity in June was a virtual Career Pivoting panel. The panel included: Michelle Barry with Salt Lake Public Utilities, Lizel Allen with Salt Lake County Flood Control, Marie Owens with AE2S, Krissy Beitel with Salt Lake Public Utilities, and Melissa Noble with the Division of Drinking Water (DEQ). We discussed career pivoting, among other topics.

In the heat of July, we met together in person and toured the innovative Cornell Lift Station in Salt Lake City. We enjoyed the ambiance of the Jordan River and saw the green infrastructure intalled there that improves the quality of water being discharged into the Jordan River. The site also adds a recreational ammenity for the community.

August was another virtual event with Emily Lewis frome Clyde Snow Attorneys at Law discussing Utah’s water banking update. The Utah water banking team worked hard to pilot the program. It is now moving into a new phase of the project, assessing lessons learned, best practices, and usable materials and content for Utah water users to explore water banking and water marketing more generally.

In September we hosted a social gathering and a paint night at Painting With A Twist in Murray. It was a fun evening of painting, laughing, trivia, and just enjoying getting to know other Women of Water members.

At the virtual October event, Paige Geslin, USU Career Coach and Jullian Morely, Assistant Director of USU Career Design Center, discussed the topic: Negotiating and Evaluating Job Offers.

2022 was a great year for the Women of Water organization. We transitioned from virtual-only events to meetings in person again. Thank you for your continued involvement as we seek to engage, empower, and educate women in the water industry!