Carroll County Water District #1 Receives KRWA’s Highest Award!
(August 30 – Bowling Green) Each year, ten water and wastewater utilities are announced during Kentucky Rural Water Association’s (KRWA) Member Appreciation Breakfast as Wooden Bucket finalists and honored for their outstanding service during the past year. Hilda Legg, Director, and J. Anthony Hollinsworth, Community Programs Director, USDA-Rural Development, were on hand to present all the honorees with plaques of recognition. Utilities honored included: RD Area 1: Grand Rivers Waterworks and, Ohio County Water District; RD Area 2: Monroe County Water District and Marion County Water District; RD Area 3: Carroll County Water District #1 and Garrard County Water Association; RD Area 4: Cannonsburg Water District and Paintsville City Utilities; RD Area 5: Monticello Utility Commission and Hyden-Leslie County Water District. From this list one utility is singled out to receive Rural Water’s highest honor, the prestigious Wooden Bucket Award.
The Wooden Bucket Award is presented to a water and/or wastewater utility that has made substantial and lasting improvements in providing high levels of customer service and high quality drinking water and wastewater services in its community, Also included in the list of achievements are having shown exceptional efforts in meeting the needs of their communities, enhancing their operations, and complying with regulatory requirements. During Wednesday’s Awards Luncheon, Carroll County Water District was named as the utility most deserving of this year’s award!
General Manager Obe Cox stated, “This was pretty cool to snag this award on the anniversary of KRWA’s forty years. Of my twenty-four years of being involved in the utility field, I have known Gary Larimore and most of his staff the entire time. As they near their retirement stage, it meant so much more to me personally before their exit. Also, it was very special that both my mentors were in the audience as well; Jim Smith, previous District Manager, and Kerry Odle, who I worked closely with for many years at a civil engineering firm. It was a great honor to haul the Wooden Bucket plaque back to our office in Ghent for all the employees. They are what makes Carroll County Water special. We are made up with folks from the Board to staff that have pride and love in their position or career. We have linemen that truly are warriors who battle hard, even when most are fearful of being frost bit or hit by lightning. The office staff aren’t concerned at what age or stage they are in their career. They are eager and willing to learn something new. A board that truly understands strategic planning, oversight and the importance of support in making a utility continue to evolve when required mandates to a public water supply seem to be never ending.
In the past nine years, it has been a lot of fun maneuvering CCWD into the modern area of technology and making modifications to the existing treatment plants and distribution system that linger into the rural areas of Gallatin and Owen counties. We have completed so many in-house projects that it is hard to list them all without feeling guilty of sounding boastful. A quick list includes: WTP emergency backup generator, a mobile generator with quick connects at critical pump station sites, emergency cross connection with other public water suppliers, Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) improvements, additional zone meters for leak monitoring and enhancements of control valves, an aggressive automatic meter reading warranty exchange program, Water Treatment Rehab projects that consist of remodeling one facility and enhancing the chemical controls and installing more energy efficient pumps at the other plant.
Other things that have taken place that are not related to our assets are the strategic moves which are not required by any statues. Other than doing your job well, CCWD has refinanced long term debt, changed electrical power plans based on demand, and demanded proper warranty exchange when a product fails. Doing some of the simple things save money over a long period, such as enforcing scheduling of service orders. All of this requires hard work to keep rates as low as possible, with just standard inflation, although rates will have to be increased at some point.
One of the most astonishing items that I think for CCWD, is that the staff love coming to work and working together. We are family that takes pride in our job! I believe when you have a united team, that rocks their position every day, extraordinary things happen. Accomplishments are made, such as no violations of any type (minor or major) for the past ten years, which is unheard of in this business. I want to thank everyone that has worn the CCWD logo on their chest and their families’ sacrifices. Being on call 24/7, 365 days a year takes a toll on our workers and their families and your dedication has never gone unnoticed.”
The Awards Ceremony was held during KRWA’s 40th Annual Conference and celebration of 40 years of Helping Utilities…Help Themselves. Over 800 representatives of Kentucky’s public drinking water and wastewater utilities gathered for this annual event which provides attendees great opportunities to network with their peers, tour Kentucky’s largest exhibition of products and services available to public utilities and hear from informed speakers on issues impacting the water industry.
The Kentucky Rural Water Association is a statewide, non-profit association that provides training, on-site technical assistance, advocacy, and other services to all utilities, including over 365-member public drinking water and wastewater utilities, in Kentucky. With offices in Bowling Green and Frankfort, KRWA has been fulfilling its mission of helping water and wastewater utilities help themselves since 1979.
