A deeply held appreciation for the beautiful outdoors and the value of clean water is intertwined in the globetrotting story of an Aqua America engineer who is living out his passion for environmental stewardship.

“Working for Aqua as an engineer and project manager over infrastructure improvements is exactly what I find rewarding,” Derek Sutton, with the Bryn Mawr-based utility’s Aqua Indiana operation, said recently on the company’s blog. “If you’re interested in a career that provides a real sense that you are helping the community and serving in the best interest of the public, then a water-related career is a great option.”

Already a water systems engineer, Sutton’s unexpected romance with Finland native Petra led him to a subsequent voyage to Sweden as a water project consultant — a valuable perspective he now employs with his work on several Hoosier communities’ public drinking water systems.

“Swedes expect water to be pure and clean,” he said in the post. “They believe you should be able to drink from lakes or streams. Tap water is actually preferred over bottled water, which is hard to find.”

Read much more about Sutton’s journey and the attributes of Carmel, Indiana, that make him and his wife feel at home on Aqua America’s blog here.

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Top Photo Credit: Aqua America Blog