Jay Lehr, Ph.D., the colorful personality who led the National Ground Water Association from a small national association of water well contractors into an international association of groundwater professionals, passed away on January 10. He was 86.
Lehr was the executive director of the Association from 1968-1991. Under his guidance, the National Water Well Association, and later the National Ground Water Association, grew from fewer than 2000 members to the current total of more than 10,100 members all around the world. The Association also became known for its educational programs, publications, and its advocacy of groundwater as a valuable national resource under his direction.
Lehr was first a member of the Association, joining in 1964. He was then hired by the National Water Well Association Board of Directors late in 1967 to be the Association’s first full-time employee. One of his first actions was to move the Association headquarters to Columbus, Ohio, as he was a groundwater hydrology professor at Ohio State University.
He was joined in Columbus by three other full-time employees, and they charted a path for growing the Association into what it largely is today.
Upon his hire, Lehr was already the editor-in-chief of Groundwater®, the Association’s technical journal established in 1964. Lehr later had the Association purchase the controlling interest in Water Well Journal® in 1970 and served as its editor-in-chief from that time until 1991.
Lehr saw the importance of discussing groundwater-industry related issues with professionals from all sectors and wrote regularly in both publications. He was also the author of 36 books. Among the titles was Water Well Technology with Michael D. Campbell, a well-regarded industry text published in 1973.
He spoke on the importance of groundwater regularly, meeting with several federal agencies in his career, testifying before the U.S. Congress multiple times, and even appearing on the morning Today show in 1974.
Lehr earned NGWA’s Ross L. Oliver Award in 1986. The Oliver Award is the most prestigious given by NGWA and recognizes those who have made outstanding contributions to the groundwater industry.
Upon leaving NGWA, Lehr was the science director at the Heartland Institute for more than 20 years beginning in 1993. Most recently, he was a senior policy analyst with the International Climate Science Coalition. He was also a regular lecturer, speaking to groups all around the world on a variety of environmental issues.
Known by colleagues as a character, Lehr was even featured in Parachute Magazine in 2010 for setting a world record for having jumped from an airplane every month for 32 years.
“Often described as a character, Jay possessed an exuberance for life, work, and explainable science that baffled many but intended to benefit those working in the groundwater industry,” said Kathy Butcher, NGWA’s former director of education from 1973-2022 who was hired by Lehr. “He was adamant staff understand why they were doing a certain task and how that benefitted the membership, as well as encouraging them to achieve their potential — sometimes involuntarily.
“He provided opportunities with responsibility that few early in their careers would have experienced elsewhere. He believed you should approach science with the curiosity of an 8-year-old and be open to debate. Our work environment was certainly never boring.”
Click here to read Lehr’s obituary.