Janet Cherry is a dedicated senior water specialist with over 30 years’ experience in the public and private sectors. Since joining ERG in 2022, she has supported projects to assist drinking water and wastewater systems with training, tools, infrastructure assessments, and funding resources. She also supports the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in providing information and trainings on Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding, with an emphasis on improving access to funding by small and underserved communities. In addition, she provides technical support to EPA’s Closing America’s Wastewater Access Gap Community Initiative in identifying solutions to challenging on-site and centralized wastewater systems.  

Prior to ERG, Janet worked as an environmental engineer in both the Montana and Washington state drinking water programs. During her six years as supervisor of Washington’s Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Program, she gained valuable insight into drinking water infrastructure needs, as well as the tools that smaller systems need to successfully undertake infrastructure projects. She oversaw federal and state grant funding targeted to assist small systems with project planning, identifying alternatives, and constructing needed infrastructure.

Janet’s private sector experience includes supporting the EPA as a contractor in developing and implementing drinking water regulations. She also planned and designed water and wastewater infrastructure for engineering consulting firms. Janet has travelled to more than 100 drinking water systems throughout the United States to perform sanitary surveys, construction inspections, and comprehensive performance evaluations.

Janet holds a B.S. from the University of Illinois and an M.S. from the University of Idaho, both in agricultural engineering; she is a registered professional civil engineer in Washington and California. She enjoys hiking, biking, skiing, and snowshoeing with family and friends.