Chief Operating Officer
Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District
Bio:
Shazelle is a Utah native and a graduate of Utah State University, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry. She began her career with Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District in water quality and treatment optimization and developed extensive expertise in drinking water operations and regulatory compliance.
Since 2005, Shazelle has led the District’s water supply, treatment, and distribution operations, providing strategic oversight and ensuring the reliable delivery of high-quality drinking water to the community. In 2020, she was appointed Assistant General Manager and currently serves as Chief Operating Officer.
She also holds a Master of Public Administration from Brigham Young University, strengthening her ability to integrate sound public policy, organizational leadership, and technical water management. Throughout her career, Shazelle has remained actively engaged in the water industry, contributing her expertise through the American Water Works Association (AWWA), the Utah Water Quality Alliance, and numerous professional committees and collaborative initiatives.
Title: Why is Selenium in South Shore Bird Eggs on the Rise?
Abstract: The Southwest Jordan Valley Groundwater Project (SJVGWP) is a large-scale water quality and resource recovery initiative led by the Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District (JVWCD) in partnership with Rio Tinto and implemented under regulatory oversight from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Utah Department of Environmental Quality. Developed over several decades, the project addresses groundwater contamination in the southwestern Salt Lake Valley resulting from historic mining operations that posed a long-term threat to regional aquifers and the drinking water supply for a rapidly growing population.
To mitigate this risk, JVWCD and Rio Tinto established an innovative public-private partnership to design, fund, and construct a comprehensive groundwater extraction and advanced reverse osmosis (RO) treatment system. Strategically located extraction wells and two treatment facilities intercept and treat impacted groundwater, preventing plume migration while converting a previously unusable resource into thousands of acre-feet of high-quality potable water annually.
A defining component of the project is the management of the concentrated byproduct generated through the RO process. This is supported by a robust, joint monitoring program implemented collaboratively by JVWCD and Rio Tinto in close coordination with regulatory agencies and other Great Salt Lake stakeholders. The program spans multiple environmental media—including water, sediment, macroinvertebrates, and avian populations—and integrates coordinated sampling, shared data systems, and adaptive management strategies. This collaborative approach enables ongoing evaluation of selenium concentrations, loading dynamics, and ecological response within the receiving system. It underscores the importance of long-term, collaborative monitoring and adaptive management to address trace element loading and sustain the ecological health of Great Salt Lake.
