Partner Highlight: Jeff Tuttle
Words by Esther Hewitt
Jeff is the Education Coordinator for the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority (ABCWUA), a fitting position for someone who worked as a teacher in Albuquerque for 31 years. Jeff is gregarious and friendly, buoyantly optimistic, and a natural educator with a genuine concern for his community. We met over coffee on one of the first warm days of early spring, and I promptly received a sunburn for neglecting sunscreen while Jeff talked me through the Water Authority’s initiatives to invest in resilient communities. He told me that the beautiful side of the struggle to live in a state without excess resources is to see the ingenuity that results.
“We have to be a little scrappy here in New Mexico, to think outside the box.” This mindset has resulted in the Southside Water Reclamation Plant, which is the largest reclamation plant in New Mexico and the only facility this side of the Mississippi that captures and harnesses the gases released during the process for energy. Between 40% and above of the energy used by the reclamation plant comes from this circularity. The reclaimed waste is also available for purchase as certified biosolids compost at $25/ton.
A significant part of Jeff’s job description is to help educate the community and raise awareness about water use, connections to green spaces, and sustainability in social conversations. In 2008, the Water Authority designed and funded a program that takes fourth graders to the river to understand the ecosystem and connect youth with the plants and animals with whom we share the water. Many of the participants come from urban backgrounds and have never experienced the Rio Grande, making this field trip a pivotal learning opportunity for them. The goal is to foster a connection between the students, the water they use, and its relationship to the larger ecosystem. Jeff noted that around a quarter of the fourth graders on the field trips didn’t know that the river is part of the city. They knew the Rio Grande was somewhere in New Mexico, but they had no idea it was right here.
The Water Authority’s commitment to students does not stop with a single field trip. When they discovered that longer conversations resulted in more retention for the students, they brought educators into the classrooms a week before the trip. ABCWUA found that some schools struggled to fill chaperone positions, causing students to miss out on the experience. In response, employees obtained background checks and became certified to step in when chaperones were needed. When Jeff communicates with the schools, he is able to send an email saying, “If you are low on chaperones, we'll fill in. We've got it.”
This sense of community cohesion and pride in togetherness is an underlying value that emerged in conversation several times. Jeff’s confidence lies in the belief that people are willing to work together for the good of the community when given the chance, highlighting the creativity and ingenuity of the people of New Mexico. He cited the foresight of Aldo Leopold, the father of modern wildlife ecology, who recognized the importance of a conversation between businesses and conservation, emphasizing the significance of state parks and open spaces for Albuquerque’s responsible growth, and seeding the idea of long-term planning into Albuquerque’s present. More recently, Jeff noted the community’s reaction to the discovery that the aquifer is smaller than previously believed. He remarked that there has been, and continues to be, significant effort and dedication of resources to educate our community on conservation, and the community has responded to knowledge with action.
To Jeff, the key is helping people understand the land we live on and what is compatible with a sustainable future in this place. Meaningful work is being done here in New Mexico—creative and innovative work that builds on a unique history of foresight and recognition of land and place. Jeff is one piece of this effort. By investing in education and trusting in the willingness of New Mexicans to collaborate for the good of the community, he believes we can create a sustainable future in New Mexico.
Learn more about the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility here: https://www.abcwua.org/