Member Spotlight
In her role as a stormwater quality specialist, IECA member Carrie Powers is able to combine her infectious enthusiasm for just about any project with her skills as an educator to help others do a better job of controlling erosion, sediment, and other sources of water pollution.
Powers is in charge of education and outreach for the Southeast Metro Storm Water Authority, which serves the city of Centennial and surrounding Arapahoe County, just east of Denver, Colorado. She’s held this position since it was created two years ago as part of the US Environmental Protection Agency’s NPDES Phase II requirements. Her duties include working with developers and contractors to improve their use of permanent BMPs, conducting pollution prevention training sessions for city and county public works staff, educating homeowners about maintaining post-construction stormwater management facilities, and conducting public information campaigns to promote effective pollution prevention practices.
Desirable Goals
While her agency has the authority to enforce NPDES permit requirements, if necessary, Powers’ primary focus is on education.
“Education can go a long way in improving erosion and sediment control,” she says. “I like working with people to help them understand that there are a variety of cost-effective ways to comply with NPDES rules and regulations while still achieving their project goals. Ideally, we may even be able to help them save money.”
For example, Powers may suggest that a contractor reduce the number of site entry and exit points to minimize the amount of sediment tracked offsite by trucks and other construction equipment. In the case of a homeowners’ association, she may suggest ways of inspecting and maintaining stormwater detention ponds to keep them functioning properly.
Last year, Powers worked with her counterparts in a neighboring county to develop a series of half-page public service ads educating contractors and homeowners about steps they can take to preventing water pollution. “We pooled our dollars and efforts to make this a cost-effective program for both of us,” she explains. “The ads were distributed to a group of newspapers in each county and offered to business and homeowner associations for use in their newsletters.”
She learned such teamwork as a basketball player, mostly as a center and sometimes as forward on her high school basketball team. A loyal fan of the local Denver Nuggets professional basketball team, she and her husband, Jim, also enjoy snowshoeing and hiking in Colorado’s high country.
Discovering the Industry
Powers, who was raised in central Massachusetts, graduated from the University of Colorado with a degree in geography. It was good preparation for her work in the erosion control industry, she notes.
“There’s so much you can do with a geography education,” Powers says. “It links together so many areas that are related to erosion, like hydrology, climatology and computer science, along with human geography and cultural studies.”
Prior to her current position, Powers worked with a transportation engineering firm doing education and outreach on construction and post-construction BMPs of state highway projects. She entered the erosion control industry when, fresh out of college and looking for environmental protection work, she landed a job with a national stormwater management consulting company.
“As I learned about erosion and sediment control, I found that I liked the type of people I was working with and discovered that education and outreach work came naturally to me,” Powers recalls.
Her first educational assignment involved writing a manual on procedures for inspecting erosion and sediment control practices at construction sites and training company staff to ensure consistent inspections around the country.
“I went out on construction sites with the inspectors and trained them in the procedures,” Powers says. “Even though it was challenging, it also was a lot of fun. I got to see the differences in how erosion and sediment control practices were implemented from one city to another.”
Enhancing Networks
That job led her to join IECA. Powers attended her first Environmental Connection conference four years ago. “The training and networking opportunities provided by IECA have been absolutely invaluable to me,” she says. “I’ve met people from all over the United States. They understand the water quality and erosion and sediment control work that I do and can answer questions I may have. I learn about the various standards and enforcement procedures in different areas. This is the kind of information I can use to improve my agency’s programs.”
Powers was elected to the Board of Directors of IECA’s Mountain States Chapter (Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming) in May 2008. It provides another opportunity to serve the industry in an education and outreach role.
“I want to use my skills in those areas to provide chapter members the kinds of networking opportunities that have been so useful to me,” Powers says. “That will mean making sure that members are aware of our various chapter activities and encouraging them to take part in them.”
She also has her sights on increasing recognition of members who have made exceptional contributions to the chapter and the industry, perhaps with awards, and offering scholarships to attend IECA events or pursue erosion-control related studies in college. “Through my work with other organizations, I know some of the people and resources that are available to help our chapter accomplish these goals,” Powers says. “Our board is very supportive of ideas to increase the value of our chapter by increasing involvement of members in our activities.”