Rural Water - Quarter 4, 2008 - (Page 66)

BY ROB JOHNSON, NRWA CEO FROM THE CEO Personally, the sacrifice, dedication and work ethic of my colleagues in the rural water associations make me extremely proud. AFTER HURRICANES RITA AND KATRINA, we thought it would be several years before other devastating storms racked the coasts. However, this year, we were introduced to Gustav, Hanna and then Ike. And they didn’t seem as bad as Rita and Katrina unless you were in their path. Again called into action, the Louisiana and Texas Rural Water Associations devoted this fall to helping people and water and wastewater systems recover. In the early days of Gustav, Pat Credeur, executive director of the Louisiana RWA, received over 600 calls for emergency assistance. With help from ﬁ ve other state rural water associations, in three weeks, the number of systems remaining to be assisted was reduced to slightly over 100 – and then came Ike. Pat reported that ﬂood levels were higher than Rita, with much of Cameron Parish underwater. So the LRWA efforts began anew. It will be months before everyone recovers. The Texas coast took the assault of Ike and the Texas RWA was prepared. They assembled and staged outside the projected path and afterward quickly went to work helping water and wastewater systems. Our Web site (www.nrwa.org) chronicled sev- eral days of work by their staff. Commenting on help from Texas RWA, “If there ever was a career where one person can make a difference, it would be rural water,” Jeff Holland, manager of the Mauriceville Special Utility District, Texas, said. “Look what a difference three people have made for 3,300.” Earlier this year, there were ﬂoods in Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota, and our rural water associations were there to help. Last spring, tornadoes swept through northern Arkansas, and the Arkansas Rural Water Association quickly responded. Over a year after the tornado in Greensburg, Kansas, and the Kansas Rural Water Association is still assisting. During dire times, you want help from people who have been there before and can deal with a crisis from their experiences. Our state rural water associations have a professional cadre who has successfully worked through a variety of national emergencies. Water and wastewater systems throughout the nation call them ﬁ rst when the worst comes. After the media has gone home, after all the other help groups have left and after the government has moved on to the next crisis, our rural water associations are still there. We don’t leave until all the work’s done. Personally, the sacriﬁce, dedication and work ethic of my colleagues in the rural water associations make me extremely proud. They live out what the Son of God said, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 66 • Fourth Quarter 2008 http://www.nrwa.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Rural Water - Quarter 4, 2008

Rural Water - Quarter 4, 2008 Contents From the President Rural Water: Where are We Headed? The Future of Water in America Bank Collateral Controls in Nervous Times Bottle of Water or Billion Dollar Bully? Aqua Chocolate No Mas Why Even Small Water Systems Should Have Personnel Policy Manuals Safe Drinking Water Regulatory Update 2008 NRWA Industry Event Throwing My Loop Advertisers.com Index to Advertisers From the CEO

Rural Water - Quarter 4, 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.