By Ronica Stromberg
Sara Brock-Contreras's concern for groundwater quality and other Nebraskans has earned her an award locally and an ear nationally.
Named the recipient of 2026 Graduate Student Meritorious Award in the School of Natural Resources, Brock-Contreras has managed the state's Know Your Well program as a doctoral student and has met face-to-face with congressional members about the importance of groundwater quality.
"Sara has truly raised the profile of our Know Your Well program to a national level," her advisor, Dan Snow, said.
The director of the Water Sciences Laboratory at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, Snow noted Brock-Contreras traveled twice to Washington D.C. with funds from the American Geophysical Union and met Sen. Deb Fischer, Rep. Mike Flood and others. She communicated to them or their aides the need to maintain funding for science programs like Know Your Well, which works with citizens to monitor the safety of their well water and remediate when necessary.
Brock-Contreras has served as the program coordinator for the Know Your Well program since starting graduate school in January 2022 and has carried a full course load.
"She quite literally hit the ground running, regularly driving to northeast Nebraska to ensure the high school science and vocational agriculture teachers and students participating were provided with adequate supplies and training to sample test over 80 domestic wells in her first year," Snow said.
She has recruited teachers and students from 15 schools, adding approximately 200 high school students to the Know Your Well program, contributing to involvement of over 40 schools in it, Snow said.
Follow the rest of Sara's story and learn more about the Know Your Well program at https://snr.unl.edu/aboutus/what/newstory.aspx?fid=1343