AWWA Water Champion – Laurel Jackson, Portland, Maine

Laurel Jackson is right-of-way agent at Portland Water District (PWD) in Maine. She is responsible for acquiring property rights for infrastructure and operations, overseeing and controlling use of PWD land, and documenting property transactions and agreements.

Education/certification: B.S., Biology, University of Southern Maine

Career summary: I joined PWD in 2005 to work in its laboratories conducting water and wastewater analyses. In 2010, I became a water resources specialist in the Source Protection Department with oversight over Sebago Lake, a multi-use lake that serves as the drinking water supply for 200,000 customers. In 2021, I was hired as PWD’s right-of-way agent. I perform all aspects of land and right-of-way transactions on properties to be acquired by the District to ensure legal compliance. I also serve as a liaison between PWD and municipal staff, state and federal agencies, and engineers and other professionals.

How and why did you get involved in the water sector? A friend worked at PWD and recommended me for a laboratory job. I was newly out of college and honestly never thought I would find myself still working there 18 years later. But with each role I served in, I gained knowledge and appreciation for the almost invisible, yet vitally critical role PWD plays in protecting public health and sustaining the lives and livelihoods of people in the community.

What led to your focus on water quality and source water protection? PWD owns about 2,500 acres of land for the purpose of protecting Sebago Lake. What happens on the land is the biggest determination of the water quality of nearby lakes, rivers and streams. Activities that cause soil erosion and possible pollution can harm Sebago Lake. That is why it is important that PWD manages the activities that occur on the land it owns.

As right-of-way agent, I collaborate with PWD’s lake protection staff to manage use of PWD-owned land around the Lower Bay. I also work with landowners to negotiate PWD purchase of critical lakefront properties within the Lower Bay water quality protection area. I maintain an archive of about 5,200 real estate deeds with many dating back to the turn of the 20th century. The land around the lake is among some of the earliest acquisitions by PWD and often the deeds are hand-written in cursive — good thing I know how to read and write cursive! Often, we still use these old documents to determine what may or not be allowed on a particular piece of land or easement today.

What is a project you’re most focused on right now? We’re working in cooperation with the Town of Windham, Maine, to install a new sewer system in a growing neighborhood. This complex project has involved acquiring property rights for a sewer collection system, treatment plant and disposal fields. The project team is a great group of water professionals.

What do you enjoy most about your job? With more than 120 years of history, PWD has an extensive archive of property deeds. Questions often arise about the history of PWD property and rights-of-way, and I enjoy doing the research to answer those questions. Often, the answer to a modern-day question is laid out in an almost 100-year-old document. Not all of our records are digitized, so I sometimes have to look through the paper files where I often find old correspondence, hand-written notes, check stubs, etc. that can be really interesting to read.

Please describe your family and/or hobbies and interests. I am originally from Maine and have never lived anywhere else. I love the beauty of its beaches, forests, lakes and mountains. I live in Scarborough with my husband, Brian, and our 13-year-old dog, Raven. I enjoy hiking, running, cooking and going to the beach.