Department of Conservation and Recreation
Conserve. Protect. Enjoy.
Department of Conservation and Recreation
Amanda PenningtonNo two days are alike for Amanda Pennington, head of engineering services for DCR’s Soil and Water Conservation programs.
“I don’t have a typical day,” she says during a rare moment at her desk. “One day I could be designing a waste-storage facility, and the next I’m running a meeting for dam owners. Another day I might be visiting a farm. I log a lot of miles!”
A licensed professional engineer, Pennington worked in local government and for a private engineering firm before she joined DCR in 2010.
Growing up on the Northern Neck, she always knew she wanted a career in math or science. When her chemistry professor at Rappahannock Community College suggested engineering, Pennington realized her path. She went on to earn a degree in mechanical engineering from Virginia Commonwealth University.
At DCR, she oversees the team responsible for engineering on agricultural best management practices — structures such as waste storage sheds, hardened stream crossings and alternative watering systems — that protect waterways from runoff pollution. Her main customers are Virginia’s 47 soil and water conservation districts, which are charged with helping farmers implement these kinds of practices in partnership with DCR.
Pennington and her staff also provide the engineering work for 104 flood-control dams that are owned by the districts, as well as dams at Virginia State Parks. Dam safety is one of her passions. Just ask her Border collie Siphon, named for a method of lowering lake levels behind dams, or her horse Bernoulli, named after the mathematician whose equation explains why it works.
Pennington was the first to work in her role for DCR and created the team she manages. As the need to provide districts with engineering services became apparent, she stepped up to the challenge. She welcomed the opportunity to create a program from scratch.
One of her goals is to give DCR the capacity to do more in-house engineering.
“Building a new program is hard, but it’s rewarding,” she said. “DCR has so many great programs, it’s definitely worth the investment in our future.”
