Women in Construction Week 2025: Sarah Johns
posted
With a couple twists of a wrench, Madison Water Utility Service Representative Sarah Johns loosens the bolts to a water meter.
“What I like to do—is usually take a flathead screwdriver and make space between the flange and the meter set, and sometimes with the water pressure it holds pretty tight,” Johns said.
There is a water meter in each City of Madison home. Each meter counts how much water is used at the property, which then sends data to the City to produce a water bill-- a lot of pressure for a piece of infrastructure most homeowners don’t even know sits in their basement.
“Quite often they [homeowners] don’t know where their water meter is, especially since it hasn’t been changed in 20 years,” Johns said. “They may be a new homeowner, or they don’t remember it happening before.”
As a Madison Water Utility field service representative, Johns is busy. She visits 5-6 homes a day to replace water meters during scheduled visits with homeowners and commercial buildings.
“There are water meters in every building that receives water through the city, and it’s my job to go into the residential and commercial buildings and replace them so we can test them for accuracy,” Johns said.
The Madison Water Utility swaps out the meters every four to 20 years based on the size of meter used, with 20 being most common for residential homes.
“What happens is water flows through it, there is a disc inside of it that actuates, and it basically measures water through displacement, and the head on it, records the amount of water that goes through the meter, and you get your municipal bill based on the amount of water that travels through this meter and recorded,” Johns said.
Understanding how water works in the meters is only part of the job.
“I know how to make someone comfortable when I’m entering their home,” Johns said. “I know how to communicate with a diverse population and be able to explain and communicate what I’m doing.”
Johns credits her professional community connection and communication skills to her journey that led her to succeeding at the Madison Water Utility.
Johns grew up in Madison, earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics and before making the jump to grad school, ended up falling in love with connecting with the community at the Madison Public Library where she worked for 16 years.
“I really like it; every day is really different. It’s fun. I still get to meet people and talk to people like I did at the library. I like those interpersonal experiences.”
Experience at the library helped prep her for a total 180-degree career change, where she would take her first shot at the Madison Water Utility as a Water Quality Sampler.
“I would collect samples of water through the distribution system to make sure there was no bacteria, they’d go to the state hygiene lab—and make sure our water is safe for everybody—which it is, it’s safe.”
Then, Johns moved into her current position as a field service representative, a role in the construction realm she never initially thought she’d be in, which Johns said other women may not know either.
“It’s important to highlight jobs and opportunities out there that you may not think of initially because the people you see out there in those positions may not look like you,” Johns said. “I think it’s really important to highlight women in this field so that young women can see them as role models and enter the field as well.”
Johns said working in construction is sometimes a space still where there are not as many women as she’d like to see, but being a part of Women in Construction Week is a great way to raise awareness of opportunities and experiences.
“When I first started, I felt like I had to prove myself, I was hesitant to ask for help. But as I talked to my then lead worker at that time, he explained to me the whole purpose of this job, and the goal for these jobs is that anyone should be able to do them, and figuring out the tools you might need to complete them,” Johns said.
For Johns, not every tool was found in the toolbox for her growth and support to try something new, it was in the form of support.
“My sister has always been a cheerleader for me,” Johns said. “When I was looking at different job descriptions, of what I wanted to do next, and I would always say, ‘I’m not qualified for that,’ and my sister would say, ‘you are qualified for anything you set your mind to, and if you’re not qualified, apply, apply, apply!’”
Support in any form is important for growth, according to Johns, and for growth in this field, no matter who it is in the meter shop cheering her on day-to-day or supporting her career as a woman in construction.
“I think it shows how strong women are, and they can be doing same work that men are doing,” Johns said. “I know in my position I was always questioning if I was strong enough, because sometimes I have to wrench really hard on some bolts, but being able to prove I can do what a man can do, I think that’s what women in construction week is about.”
With a couple last twists of a wrench, the meter is in place. Johns heads to the next stop, same pressure, same goal, another opportunity to grow in an industry becoming more frequent for women... than a 20-year meter swap.
Departments:
Categories:
