Amy Peters Ensures Safe Water for Nebraska as AFSCME Award Winner

Ensuring Safe Water: A Crucial Task for Nebraska's Health and Environment

In our daily lives, the safety of the water we drink, use for cooking, and rely on for cleanliness is often taken for granted. However, ensuring that water is safe is a complex process that requires the expertise of dedicated professionals.

Amy Peters, a scientist with the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services and a member of the Nebraska Association of Public Employees (NAPE)/AFSCME Local 61, plays a critical role in this process. "Testing water is critical for the livelihood of everyone," Peters emphasizes. "It’s just the basis of human health. Water is the cornerstone."

Peters is responsible for testing various types of water, including lakes, groundwater, and drinking water, to ensure they are safe for both human use and the environment. "If it’s water, we test it no matter what form it is," she asserts.

Working alongside Peters is Tara Wulfekoetter, an assistant lab manager, who admires Peters' dedication and passion. "What she does is very important," Wulfekoetter remarks. "I’m always learning stuff from Amy. She does not quit."

Peters' unwavering commitment to her work has earned her the AFSCME’s Never Quit Service Award, an accolade that honors public service workers who go the extra mile to better their communities.

Reflecting on the importance of her work, Peters notes, "If we weren’t able to test our water, I can’t even imagine what our lives would be like — having to constantly boil our water, filter our water, spending all day just making sure we have what we need to cook, bathe, clean, anything."

Peters is driven by her passion for science and public health, stating, "I truly believe that what I’m doing is a service to the people."