Local official training improves water management

by Jodi Collins
NETCSC Contributing Writer

Mississippi is one of a few states requiring local drinking water system board members to attend management training sessions. Perhaps surprisingly, this mandatory training has been so well received that board members have requested additional follow-up training. But did this follow-up training achieve results? Did the local officials go beyond attending the training and actually implement what they learned when they returned to their roles as guardians of their community water systems?

According to an evaluation conducted by the National Environmental Training Center for Small Communities (NETCSC) and Community Resource Group, Inc. (CRG), the answer is yes. Not only did the board members find the information to be helpful, but several communities have experienced major benefits as a result of the additional training—fewer customers receiving water illegally, increased water loss accountability, decreased system debt, updated emergency response plans and long-term plans, and grant funding sought.

These impressive results can be traced to two offerings of A Business Approach to Managing Small Water Systems, a workshop that 54 decision makers from small water systems attended in Raymond, Mississippi, in September 2001. Offered by CRG and co-sponsored by NETCSC, the National Drinking Water Clearing-
house, and the Mississippi State Department of Health (DOH), the workshop was delivered as follow-up training to the mandatory eight-hour board member training required
by the state.

“This supplemental course was designed to help board members improve their management practices and processes,” says Tommy Ricks, a CRG trainer who coordinated the training workshop. “We explained the importance of mission statements, business plans, capital improvements plans, and written reports. We also informed board members about how they can benefit from working with assistance providers and consultants.”

Ricks and CRG co-trainers David Johnson and Tom Johnson based the training session on two modules from NETCSC’s curriculum, Managing a Small Drinking Water System: A Short Course for Local Officials. They presented two different offerings of the session to accommodate participants’ schedules: one all-day workshop and one workshop offered over two evenings.

Evaluation reveals successes

Even though the CRG trainers knew the training had been well received by the board members based on classroom evaluations, the workshop co-sponsors wanted to find out for certain what impact the training was having in the actual communities. In January 2002—four months after the training sessions—NETCSC staff spoke with a number of board members who had attended the training sessions about the changes they had made in the management of their drinking water systems as a result of attending the workshop.

Nearly all of the board members reported that they had made some beneficial changes to their water system as a result of the training. In fact, most of the board members were able to list a number of significant changes that were implemented as a direct result of the training session.

Several board members from the town of Sallis’ water system attended the workshop to develop a better understanding of how a small water system should operate. “Nearly 20 to 30 of our customers who were receiving water illegally prior to the training are now paying customers due to what we learned,” says Tina McLellan, Sallis town clerk. Clearly this has resulted in increased revenue for the system. “We have also updated our ordinances, which has been very helpful,” adds McLellan.

Likewise, after several board members of the Crooked Creek Water Association attended the course, the board reevaluated its mission statement, business plan, and capital improvements plan. The revised plans now include an emergency response plan. The board sees improvements in other ways as well. “We now track our inventory and expenses better than before. Our consultants are required to provide us with more of their background information,” explains J.M. Madison, board secretary.

Carol Longino, a fellow board member, believes the training led to an overall improvement in Crooked Creek’s water system. “We have been able to decrease our debt as a result of the knowledge we gained. We have also updated our long-range plans with ideas we developed in the training session. And we have created a countywide map of our water system,” says Longino.

Lily Rose makes improvements

The Lily Rose Water Association has come a long way since being on the verge of bankruptcy in 1996, when its 15-member board was disbanded due to mismanagement. A new five-member board has since been appointed. Three of Lily Rose’s five board members attended the September training session.

Board member Joephuse Laird says the board members gained valuable information from this workshop. “As a result of the training, we have done a number of things,” he points out. “We have streamlined our manpower. We were able to eliminate one position, which has resulted in cost savings. We have also developed a system to identify and prioritize our needs for maintenance in order to meet our requirements and to improve our system.”

According to Laird, one of the association’s goals is to cut water losses. “Our objective is to sell 95 percent of the water that we pump from the ground,” he explains. “As a result of the training, we are coming closer every day. We are now rerouting lines that were previously losing water.”

Since the training workshop, the Lily Rose Water Association has also implemented a savings plan, and they now have a long-term spending plan in place.

But perhaps the biggest impact the training session had for the board members is that they learned about funding sources. According to Laird, “It was at this workshop that we learned about the valuable assistance available from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service [USDA RUS]. Since then, we have applied for $3.9 million from RUS. We are eligible for $2,847,000 in grant money, which means we do not have to pay it back. Knowledge is power. If it weren’t for the training, this eligibility would have gone to waste.”

Elise Rhodes, another Lily Rose Water Association board member, notes that the improvements in the water system are even being noticed by the community. “Because of the information that we received from the training, we have been able to create new solutions to our problems,” says Rhodes. “Our customers have stated improvements at a recent board meeting. This training was very helpful. I feel we have learned a lot and it shows.”

CRG’s Ricks has provided technical assistance to the Lily Rose Water Association on several occasions and has been impressed with the efforts the association has made to improve its overall capacity ratings, which are based on technical, managerial, and financial capacity scores. “Lily Rose has attended the follow-up trainings offered by CRG. I believe part of the reason for their high rating is their leadership, which has led to many improvements in the system,” says Ricks. “The Lily Rose system has come a long way in a short period of time.”

The improved condition of the water system gives long-time board member Laird peace of mind. “The training has helped the newer board members develop an awareness,” says Laird. “This will be my final term on the board. Now that the board has had the opportunity to gain such valuable skills, I feel the board is ready to move on without me.”

Training sessions continue

Ricks and his training team were pleased to learn that their efforts to train local water board members in Mississippi are producing concrete results. Because the September 2001 pilot training session was so well received and generated such positive results, CRG received $35,000 in funding from the state to offer the training throughout Mississippi. Between January and June 2002, the CRG training team presented A Business Approach to Managing Small Water Systems to an additional 365 board members.

Although these additional board members who attended training have not yet been questioned about their implementation of the training, Ricks, his training team, and the DOH can only hope that they too will translate what they learned in the workshop into positive changes for their water systems in the same way that the pilot training group did.

For more information about NETCSC’s training evaluation efforts or Managing a Small Drinking Water System: A Short Course for Local Officials curriculum, contact Sandra Fallon, NETCSC training specialist, at (800) 624-8301 or (304) 293-4191, extension 5582, or via e-mail at sfallon@mail.wvu.edu. For more information about Mississippi’s training efforts, contact Ricks at (601) 892-9997 or via e-mail at tricks@crg.org.