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Worked at Louisville Water since 2021
“If I go past a job that I know I did, I’m like ‘I did the concrete underneath the asphalt’,” Taya Burrell said with a smile.
It’s only fitting to share Burrell’s story during Women’s History Month. She has about six months under her belt as Louisville Water’s surface repair leader. She made history as the first woman of Local 1683 [Louisville Water’s union] to hold the classification.
“To be a woman doing this in a predominantly male job, it is exciting,” Burrell said.
A co-worker’s retirement last fall opened the door for her to smash the glass ceiling or should we say concrete?
“He was like ‘you need to put in for my job’. So, I put in for it.”
Then Burrell put in the work to get up to speed on what operating the concrete truck involved on a day-to-day basis.
“To get qualified, you have to take a test on the truck and then you have to show that you can run the truck,” she shared, adding she also took advantage of soaking up every bit of knowledge from the soon-to-be retiree.
“Every day that he was still here, I had a notebook and I was following him around taking notes every day about little stuff that I knew that I needed to know,” Burrell said.
Learning things like ordering her own materials, how to fill the truck, what to put in the mixer, and the different truck settings. All things that set her up to hit the road for what turned into an active winter for water main breaks.
“I stayed busy. We’re still catching up on some of the jobs that were rocked to the top.” Meaning, “Instead of just leaving a hole, they rock it to the top. They fill rocks all the way to the top of the hole,” Burrell explained.
And then when it’s time, she returns to pave the road.
Burrell is finding that stepping out of her comfort zone and leveling up to new challenges only leads to growth. She is one of the four members of Louisville Water’s all-women tapping team. The Lady Legends competed regionally and nationally, tapping a water main in timed events in 2024 and 2025.
“The Lady Legends did bring a lot of attention to us, so that made me be a little more comfortable too and blossom,” Burrell said.
And now she’s using her voice to help pave the way for other women interested in stepping into the water sector or similar fields that require physical labor.
“Don’t be scared. We need more women. Don’t ever let anybody tell you that you can’t do it. We can all do it,” Burrell said confidently.
And we’re all excited to see what Burrell does next at Louisville Water.
The Lady Legends head to the American Water Works Association’s Annual Conference Expo in June. Crush it, ladies!
