Our Water Quality Team
Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
Our mission is to enrich the lives of Utah communities with a scientific understanding of water quality, and central to this mission is the inclusion of a wide array of voices. We are committed to creating a safe, supportive, and empowering environment for students, employees, and volunteers to be their full selves. We value the perspectives, experiences, and ideas of all lab members regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation or identity, education, or disability, and we recognize that these differences are precisely how we, as a scientific community, can begin to tackle the complex problems in our changing world.
Meet Our Lab Members
Dr. Erin Rivers
(Principal Investigator - she/her)
Erin is an Assistant Professor and Extension Water Quality Specialist in the Department of Watershed Sciences at Utah State University. As an ecohydrologist and biogeochemist, Erin focuses on understanding how water quality is impacted by urban land use and environmental change. Born and raised in the Midwest, Erin spent much of her life on the lake which motivated her pursuits in water resource conservation. She’s since split her time between the east and west coasts, receiving an MS in Earth Sciences from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, a PhD in Environmental Sciences from Portland State University, and completing a postdoc in Soil Sciences at North Carolina State University. Erin’s research investigates interactions between water, microbes, and soil/sediment to inform best management practices in soils, streams, lakes, and green infrastructure. When not in the field or lab, Erin loves to spend time drinking coffee and adventuring around the west with her husband and doggo.
Melissa Cobo Arias (Research Assistant, MS Ecology)
Melissa is a graduate student in the Department of Watershed Sciences pursuing an M.S. in Ecology. Melissa graduated from Utah State University in 2019 with a B.S. in Watershed Sciences. Melissa’s research is quantifying carbon dioxide emissions from desiccated lakebed sediments and primary productivity in the Great Salt Lake.
Emily Jainarain (Research Assistant, MS Watershed Sciences)
Emily is a graduate student pursuing an M.S. in Watershed Sciences. Emily graduated from the University of South Florida in 2018 with a B.S. in Geology. Following her time as an undergraduate, Emily went on to work as a geotechnical technician in the Pacific Northwest. Emily’s graduate research investigates the impacts of fluctuating water levels on nutrient dynamics in a shallow freshwater lake.
Lily Wetterlin (Research Assistant, MS Watershed Sciences)
Lily Wetterlin is an M.S. student currently pursuing a degree in Watershed Science. She graduated from the University of Utah in 2018 with a B.S. in Geoscience and B.S. in Environmental & Sustainability Studies. After her undergraduate, she worked as a research associate for a variety of water quality studies within the Salt Lake Valley and most recently as an Environmental Specialist for a consulting firm. Lily's research at Utah State is investigating how to optimize the use of compost in native soils to improve runoff infiltration and water quality in Low Impact Development practices. Her future career goal is to work as a Water Quality Specialist in the intermountain west to protect and restore water bodies impacted by anthropogenic activities. Most of her free time involves long mountain bike rides, but she also loves to ski, backpack, cook and act as a novice wine sommelier.
Juno Rivers (Lab Mascot)
Juno is a lifelong research assistant, specializing in sticks and swimming. At a young age, Juno was introduced to the water, and we haven’t been able to keep her out of it since. While she looks quite at home among the red rocks, she prefers to spend her time paddling around a mountain lake and is always on the lookout for harmful algal blooms!