Watershed Moments

Jeff Mazanec finds perspective by taking time to enjoy local waterways.

Sometimes it’s hard to know if you are really making a difference with your life. Other times, you remove sewage from the landscape, and there is no doubt.

Jeff Mazanec, engineer, completed his first design project on the south shore of Lake Winnebago in the 1970s. At that time, lots of houses right on the lake had septic systems, and they were failing and leaking. Jeff designed the sewer and wastewater system that replaced what wasn’t working. “I realized I was making a difference,” Jeff said.

A decade later, Jeff started working on his first project with the City of Appleton, designing the North Fox Interceptor. He visited local parks and riverbanks to assess the situation, and he could see evidence of sewer overflows. In the park. Right next to the river!

Recalling what could have been a pretty gross moment, Jeff chuckled. Instead of turning up his nose, he said to himself, “I’m just glad we’re doing the project!”

Jeff has spent a lifetime jumping in to do this critical behind-the-scenes work, never taking much credit. “I can be proud of my role on a project,” Jeff said, “but there’s nothing we do alone. It’s humbling when you see how much other people have dedicated their professional and sometimes personal lives to improve the environment in every way they can.”

For Jeff, it has been a lifetime of watching things get better. “We don’t often see blatant pollution like we used to,” Jeff said. “I’ve been in this field for 50 years. We tend to spend 90% of our time on the 5% of things that are bad. Paddling lets me enjoy the parts that are very good.”

After the hard work of designing and maintaining hidden infrastructure, Jeff enjoys the beauty of our waters by getting into a canoe or kayak.

He’s been the president of the Northeast Wisconsin Paddlers for 13 of the last 15 years. In the early 2000s, they started a program with Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance called the Special Places Program.

“The primary purpose,” Jeff explained, “was to get people to see the community from the water. They would understand why water quality practices matter, and they’d want to keep those in place.”

Jeff is passing the love of water and paddling to his family. “My son has done six Boundary Waters trips with me. I’m hoping I can stay fit and healthy enough to take my grandkids out paddling, especially to the Boundary Waters.”

Does he think the water will be up to the task? “I think it’s a bright future, but it’s going to take continued diligence and investment,” Jeff said.

“It’s important to keep perspective,” he continued. “Every now and then you have to pull your head up and have a beautiful day in the park here on the Fox River, nice breeze, and sit back and take a little bit of a deep breath and enjoy it. There’s always more work to do, but in my experience, it’s come a long way.”

In October, Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance held an event to celebrate all the things that are going right for our local waters and to honor individuals and organizations that are making a difference. This issue of Watershed Moments highlights three of the individuals honored with a 2024 Impact Award. You can see the short videos for these and other honorees at our YouTube channel.

Watershed Moments is a publication of Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance, sharing the stories of how your donations have impacted lives in our community. Read our latest project updates, make a secure online donation, or become a member at www.fwwa.org