Page 14 - Mississippi 811 Magazine 2020 Issue 2

East l.OWnd GS Wate r Associatio n
A Shm m g Example for the State of Mzsszsszppz
By Memo Hmoock ts nice to catch a person or an organi1.aIion"doing sometlring right" and
3" M"9“7’”95 Grant Milchell Willi Easl Lowndes Water Assotiation in the Columbus
area has been doing just that. Granl Mitchell and Easl Lnwndes Water
are shining examples of the power and positive intluence oi dedicated

service. protessionalism, attention to detail, strong work ethic and prevention
mainlenante. Grant is General Manager at East Lowndes VVater and has served
the community for 44 years.

Grants philosoplry and appr-oaclr to darnage prevention is “Io respect other-

utility lacilities consider-ing salety first and avoiding expensive
' damages and down time."Tl1is philosoplry is retlected in the
qualily service Easl Lowndes water delivers.
“We value our customers. who are the owners of the
Assneiation, and their needs." explains Granl. He follows
/ - , 7 with some examples of exaclly lrow East Lowndes water
‘ \,_ ( . ‘(I3 ‘V is doing this: “By eliminating high minimum water rate
‘ 1 . e. , t . . . . .
H Al . charges. by using a level water rate system lnaklng rt lair
, ‘ ' ‘ , r‘ . to everyone and by allowing 70 days before termination
_/ \\ tor non—paymenIs. We have also instituted in—house grant
' \ programs (or line extensions."
“I have tried to keep on the cuttingedge oflecllnology
by participating in all the water works organizations:
MSRVVA‘ NRWA‘ AWWA‘ and MSPCOAV to name a few and
by networking with other water utilities." Good service is
y always best delivered witlr good tools and Granl makes sure
to keep up with what Iools are available to best serve his
rural water community. ”SCADA— supervisory control and
Data Acquisition; GlS— Gr-aplric lnlorrnation system including
accurate GPS Global Positioning system and locating apps
lor the field and maintaining up—Io—t:late hydraulics; AMR—
Automatic Meter Reading with data profiling capability; lRlS—
lnstant Response lnlomnation system; and vacuum exeavatnr
where there is no tr-acer- wire are jusl some or our great tools."
explains Grant.
Grants good business sense and commitment to prevention
maintenance keep Easl Lowndes water- running smoothly. “our
asset management places our employees as lrigb priority. pay
benefils, providing proper Iools and training tor their job are or
utmost importance. our equipment and iacilities are routinely
‘ inspected, tested, painted, updated and maintained. Prevenlion is
‘ helter than the cure as well as the money saved.’
True to their philosophy, East Lorvndes Waler Association
works in conjunction wilh Mississippi so to prevent damage in
their area. "our locate program provides wlrite lines indicating
specifically where we will be installing tacilities. This pinpoints
the area and saves ollner uIilities' lime in loealing their
facilities," explains Granl.

The interartion and relationship of East Lowndes VVater Associalinn will]
Mississippi Bu has been a positive one ol mutual respect. “Mississippi Sn

has become an essential part or utility operations at East Lorvndes Waler
Associalinn as well as with private individuals doing excavation," says Granl.
“Our position is one of gratitude and praise tor all the efions of sir. i give honor
to God nrst, who blessed me personally. and to our- water system ernployees,
professional stafi, and direclorsy the real heroes." W

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