Hey everyone! My first few weeks as an intern at the Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District have been fun and great learning experiences. One of my first duties as an intern is cleaning the flooms of the organization’s recharge ponds to keep the ponds in good condition. A floom is a water channel through which one can measure how much water is flowing into the ponds in cubic feet per second. After cleaning the flooms, I then record how much water is flowing into the ponds and how high the pond’s water level is. Then, I input these measurements into a database that monitors how much water the company is holding and conserving through this recharge pond project. In my first two weeks, another one of my early duties was to compile and update a member/sponsor database for the Ditch and Reservoir Company Alliance, a resource company that provides networking, information exchange, and advocacy among ditch and reservoir companies, irrigation districts, laterals, and private ditches. Even though the duty took a long time to complete, it was really interesting to do because I had no idea how big the world of water management really was. It was cool to see that all of these independent companies and water districts work together to execute a common goal: preserving and protecting water. This week, my fellow interns and I placed two flooms into two new project ponds. Throughout my internship, my goals are to become better at describing my job duties to others, become more knowledgeable of my duties so that I may help my coworkers if needed, and to build professional relationships with the many people of the water conservancy business.
