A New Perspective

By Jennifer Wemhoff, The Groundwater Foundation

Since starting my tenure with The Groundwater Foundation, I’ve (obviously) been aware of and concerned about the quality of our drinking water.  Growing up in rural Nebraska, I drank well water and never gave it a second thought.  After I started at the Foundation in 2000, water and the many threats to its quality and quantity were much more prominent in my thoughts and helped shape my actions.

My husband and I had our first child, a daughter, in March (actually, she was born during National Groundwater Week!).  Since her birth, I can’t help but think about Groundwater Foundation founder and President Emeritus Susan Seacrest and the concern over her infant son’s health that eventually lead to the creation of the Foundation.  (Read more about the Foundation’s history at http://www.groundwater.org/au/history.html).  Even though I’ve worked to be an advocate of clean groundwater for the past 11 years through the Foundation’s programs and projects, I now feel a more intense responsibility to help protect the resource; not only because it’s the right thing to do, but  because the stakes are higher now because it will impact my daughter’s future.  My new perspective as a parent has increased my respect for the communities, individuals, and organizations out there working to educate people and protect our precious water resources.  My daughter thanks you! 

What or who has inspired you to be a steward of water?