Recognizing Nancy Quirk

Floor Speech

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Mr. GALLAGHER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the remarkable career of Mrs. Nancy Quirk and to celebrate her retirement from the Green Bay Water Utility in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Nancy began her career in civil engineering with her studies at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. A Wisconsin-certified Professional Engineer, she worked at the Madison Water Utility before accepting the position of Technical Engineering Service Manager at Waukesha Water Utility. For the past ten years, Nancy's career brought her to Green Bay as General Manager of Green Bay Water Utility, the third largest drinking water utility in the state.

Nancy's vision, commitment, and perseverance has elevated the Utility as an industry leader that prioritizes the health and welfare of its customers. Thanks to her leadership, Green Bay Water Utility became one of the first in the nation to voluntarily remove all known public and private lead service lines.

The removal of lead service lines was no small task. Nancy facilitated her team's efforts to research records from the 19th and early 20th centuries to find potential lead lines, locate current property owners, knock on 3,000 doors to check pipes, and use specialized cameras and vacuums to scan lines for lead. At the time, utilities were prohibited from replacing privately owned lines, but the Utility worked with Wisconsin legislators to allow the Utility to replace 247 privately owned lead lines at no cost to homeowners. Nancy pooled funding sources for the five-year, $8 million lead pipe removal project and led her team to replace nearly 2,000 public and private lines in total.

Removing lead service lines was a remarkable example of how Nancy's work benefitted the citizens of Green Bay, but her vision for the future of safe water in Green Bay didn't stop there. In 2018, the utility took the forward-thinking step of proactively testing for PFAS. This allowed the Utility's water quality team to continue to closely monitor any PFAS as research evolves. Additionally, Nancy oversaw the implementation of unidirectional flushing for the entire distribution system, scouring of raw water lines, combining pressure zones, and instituting the Utilis Satellite Leak Detection System. At half the cost of the previous system, the Utilis system found potential leaks in more than 10 percent of the City's water pipes in the first year alone. The repairs to those leaks saved the City an estimated 30 million gallons of water.

An astute manager, Nancy's list of improvements to internal operations is impressive. As General Manager, Nancy oversaw the business of wholesale service to customers, adding a neighboring town and three villages. Nancy restructured the Utility and streamlined employee operations through improved communications, staff additions, and cross training. She instituted employee benefits, appreciation programs, and events. She also sought upgrades for technologies, equipment, distribution lines and the facility itself.

Nancy's passion for providing safe drinking water extends beyond the borders of the Green Bay Water Utility and its service area. A member of the American Water Works Association (AWWA) since 1987, Nancy chaired the Wisconsin Section of AWWA and is a past National Director representing Wisconsin. She served six years on the Water Utility Council for AWWA where she was the regulatory chairperson of the technical advisory groups. She was a trustee for Municipal Environmental Group-Water in Wisconsin and the Regulatory Committee for the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA). Today, she concludes her term as one of 15 representatives appointed nationwide to EPA's National Drinking Water Advisory Council.

Nancy's achievements have not gone unnoticed. She was awarded as a Distinguished Alumni in Engineering from the University of Wisconsin- Platteville. She received the Leon Smith Award from the Wisconsin Section of the AWWA and was awarded the George Warren Fuller Award for Distinguished Service to the Water Supply Field by the American Water Works Association. Most recently, Nancy was named a NEW Watershed Champion for her work in improving area waters.

Mr. Speaker, please join me in recognizing Mrs. Nancy Quirk for her exceptional leadership and commitment in embracing the core values of the Green Bay Water Utility. She has made our communities a better and safer place. Upon her retirement, she leaves the legacy of providing safe drinking water for thousands of people in Northeast Wisconsin. We are grateful to her for granting us the security of knowing the water that flows from the Green Bay Water Utility to our tap is safe to drink.

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