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Worked at Louisville Water since 1997
Being able to see how your work impacts the community can quickly turn your job into your passion.
Roger Tucker could never have predicted how a job posting would change his life.
“I worked in a medical lab, in the drug testing department. I handled thousands of urine samples every night.”
But after nine years, he was ready for a change. And that’s when he saw an opportunity at Louisville Water.
“It was something that sounded different than what I was doing. I wanted to be more environmental,” Tucker said. “A new start, a new challenge.”
Tucker landed the job and dove right in.
“I had to learn the regulations, all the procedures.”
A few months into his new role, Tucker was responsible for analyzing water samples during a boil water advisory for a south Louisville community. He gave the “all clear” and left the lab.
“I’m listening to WHAS radio driving home, and five minutes later on the radio, I hear the boil water advisory has now been cleared, the water is safe to drink.” Tucker said that’s when it clicked. “I’m like I just did that on my phone five minutes ago, and now thousands of people are hearing what we do. It kind of hit home with me that’s just how important what we do here is.”
Tucker knew he was in the right place. He continued learning, researching, and expanding his knowledge of all things related to water quality, with a heavy emphasis on algae.
“Back then, the internet wasn’t there. It was the old-fashioned way, making phone calls. I had to learn all that, and just making connections with other people.”
Tucker’s dedication earned him a special designation.
“Everybody knows me as the algae guy,” he said. “Over the years, I’ve kind of become the specialist in the state when it comes to drinking water and algae, ecology, and identification. Being able to teach other utilities and people in the water sector has been one of the most fulfilling parts of my job.”
And it’s a crucial part of maintaining water quality.
“Managing algae is critical to drinking water. Algae causes odor problems. It can cause filter problems. It has serious potential to impact water treatment.”
Tucker’s job includes monitoring the Ohio River closely and peering into a microscope.
“One day, everything’s fine. The next day, the river could turn green. It can change that quickly. It helps giving that advance notice. So, that’s kind of what I do.”
In his 28 years with Louisville Water, Tucker has answered many late-night calls and worked his fair share of “all hands on deck” situations.
“A barge sank up by Cincinnati and there was a spill coming down(river). It was supposed to be here just before Christmas Eve. So, on Christmas Eve, we were taking four-hour shifts in a van up at Westport, Kentucky.” Tucker explained, “Basically, we made a mobile lab so we could be doing analysis and watch for this spill to go by.”
As the years have gone by, Tucker has never doubted Louisville Water’s commitment to public health.
“Everybody knows when to step up. When there’s an emergency, we all know what our job is, and we’ve got to step up and be ready for it.”
Tucker will have to adjust the lens of what the future looks like as he gets ready for a new journey.
“I’m retiring in a couple months. It’s not because I don’t like my job; I’m just getting pulled in a lot of different directions.”
But you can rest assured that Tucker’s ties to Louisville Water will remain.
“This is good people, it’s family. They all call me ‘work dad’. I joke that these are all my kids.”
Tucker will continue mentoring after retirement. He plans to keep teaching microbiology courses at Midway University and other online classes at Johnson University in Knoxville.
