T H E W A T E R C O N N E C T I O N News For Clayton County Water Authority Employees & Retirees

May 2015

Shoal Creek WRF Wins

Wastewater Plant of the Year Award

Get Ready to Catch the Wave During Our 60th Celebration Cookout

CCWA’s Shoal Creek Water Reclamation Facility earned another Wastewater

Plant of the Year Award for the Advanced Treatment 3 MGD - 5. 9 MGD

Category during the Georgia Association of Water Professionals’ (GAWP)

Spring Conference held in April.

Shown above, Pelletizing Chief Operator Tony Somerville, GAWP President

Danny Ingram, Plant Operator Robert Cloud, Plant Supervisor Jim Hill and

Water Reclamation Manager Chris Hamilton at the awards luncheon.

Celebrating 60 Years of Service

Jim Hill Named

‘Top Op’ for District 3

Shoal Creek WRF Plant Supervi-

sor Jim Hill has a new feather in

his career cap after being named

Top Wastewater Operator for

District 3.

Jim is one of an elite group of

operators ‘who have imparted

knowledge that helps in the

operation of water and wastewater

municipalities across the state.’

It is time to celebrate CCWA’s 60th Anniversary and a team of employees has planned two celebrations to mark this

milestone – An Employee Cookout and an Open House in our HQ Community Use Room.

The employee cookout takes place on Wednesday, May 6th

from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. CCWA chefs from D&C, Water

Reclamation, Water Production and Stormwater will be grilling chicken, burgers and hot dogs to go with some tasty side

dishes and desserts. We will have a big tent set up in the parking lot behind the fence between D&C and Meter Services

so employees can enjoy lunch and catch up with folks from other departments. Along with lunch, our CCWA Brand

Champions will have a short program at 11:30 and 12:30 and will reveal three potential new logo concepts! Every

employee will get to vote on their favorite logo concept and take home one of three commemorative gifts.

On Tuesday, May 12th, we are hosting an Open House in the HQ Community Use Room from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. for

elected officials and community leaders. We will have a short program and history stations set up with some cool

artifacts from our past. Employees will be manning these stations to talk to guests about the different time periods.

Employees and our retirees are invited to visit the Open House and history stations on Wednesday, May 13th. The

Community Use Room will be open from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Employees will be manning the stations between 10 a.m.

– 2 p.m. We hope you will stop by and take a walk down CCWA memory lane.

A lot of work has taken place over the past few months planning these events. Now it is time to celebrate!

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Keith Lowry

Recognized for

15 Years of Service

Hooper Water Production Class 1

Plant Operator Keith Lowry

celebrated 15 years of service with

CCWA on March 24, 2015.

Keith is shown above with Assistant

GM Bernard Franks and

GM Mike Thomas.

Joey Martin

Recognized for

15 Years of Service

D&C Utility Service Foreman

Joey Martin celebrated 15 years

of service with CCWA on March 20,

2015.

Joey is shown above with

Assistant GM Bernard Franks

and D&C Manager Jeff Jones.

From General Manager Mike Thomas

May 1st marks the beginning a new budget year, and our Board of Directors

recently approved our fiscal year 2015-2016 budget request. The 2014-2015

budget year was one of our most financially successful

in the last 10 years. There are many reasons for this

success. It was the first year in the last 15 years that

water sales were greater than the previous year. The

local economy has been improving, and we are finally

beginning to see some new development come to

Clayton County, along with many of the vacant homes

and lots becoming occupied.

We have seen some expansion of our major industrial

users, along with the purchase of water by the City of

College Park. On the expense side, we have all done a great job in managing

the costs of our business and working more efficiently.

When we can demonstrate this kind of success to our Board, it gives them

trust in us as a team and they are more willing to accept increases in spend-

ing that are necessary to move our company forward. The good news for us

as employees is that the budget includes a 2% cost of living increase that will

be effective with the first full pay period in May. You will also be eligible for up

to a 3% merit increase at the time of your annual review. However, as we

have previously communicated, there will be an increase in your contribution

to the pension on July 1st of 1.5 or 2%; we are still awaiting a final decision by

the Clayton County Board of Commissioners on this issue. This increase is

offset by our efforts to prevent your health insurance from increasing by going

to a plan called “self-insurance” in which we budget our own funds to cover

your health care costs. Being self-insured will allow us to have more control

over changes to the plan. You should not notice any significant change as we

will continue to utilize Blue Cross/Blue Shield to manage the plan.

From an operational perspective, you will notice a lot of emphasis on

rehabilitating our pipeline assets. With over 3,000 miles of water, sewer and

stormwater pipe to maintain, we should be replacing about one percent of that

pipe each year which is equal to 30 miles of pipe. We have not been able to

reach that pace of replacement so our management team is working on a plan

to accelerate this work with a combination of our staff and outside contractors.

The CCWA Board of Directors will also consider approval of our 2015

Mid-term Strategic Master Plan update at the May Board meeting. This plan is

also very focused on pipeline asset management, but also on other aspects of

our business such as improving our IT resources, customer service and the

quality of our water products.

Thanks for all your help in this process. I am proud to work for one of the

finest utilities in the country and obviously one of the greatest teams of

employees!

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Congratulations to the

following winners from our

April drawing:

Darlene Tuggle (IT)

Coty Davidson (General Services)

Renzer Ham (Meter Services)

Jenny Morris (Customer Accounts)

Chris Clinton (Meter Services)

Pay Check Stubs Going Paperless

Stan Court

Recognized for

15 Years of Service

Construction Inspector II

Stan Court celebrated 15 years of

service with CCWA on April 4, 2015.

Stan is shown above with Civil

Engineer Cliff Beroset, GM Mike

Thomas and Program Mgmt./

Engineering Manager Kelly Taylor.

Carol Lambert

Recognized for

20 Years of Service

Senior Conservationist Carol

Lambert celebrated 20 years of

service with CCWA on April 10, 2015.

Carol is shown above with GM Mike

Thomas and Water Production

Manager Kendra Stanciel.

As of the May 8th payroll, pay advices/check stubs will no longer be printed and

distributed. Instead this information will be accessed through the Employee

Self Service portal.

Until certain system updates are installed, employees will not be able to access

the portal outside of CCWA networks at our work locations. In the interim,

workplace computers or the HQ Computer Lab may be used to access your

information. Finance will notify employees once the option is available. Actual

(live) checks will continue to be processed and distributed for those without

direct deposit. These actual checks will need to be picked up by Managers or

their assigned designee each pay date as normal.

If any one needs assistance, Scott Whitlock will be in the Computer Lab on

Thursday, May 7, 7 a.m. - 5 p.m. The Computer Lab will also be available all

day on May 8th. Carol Cameron will be available in her office Thursday, May 7,

7 a.m. – 4 p.m. and Friday, May 8, 7 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Tickets are on sale and can be purchased from the front counter Customer Service Representatives at the HQ building.

Six Flags Over Georgia – 1-Day Admission tickets $40.27 each

Six Flags White Water – 1-Day Admission tickets $36.03 each

2015 Two-Park Season Pass (SFOG & SFWW) $63.59 each

For park hours, specials, or event schedules, you can visit their websites listed below:

https://www.sixflags.com/overgeorgia

https://www.sixflags.com/whitewater

Tickets may be purchased by check or money order made payable to CCWA or by cash.

Discounted Six Flags and White Water

Baby News

Orlando Ward (Meter Services) and

his wife Camishia welcomed son,

Cameron (8 lbs. 14oz), who was

born on April 11, 2015.

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CCWA Ambassadors Out and About

Kenny Davis Comes to Teen’s Aid

Ed Durham

Recognized for

15 Years of Service

Human Resources Director

Ed Durham celebrated 15 years of

service with CCWA on April 24,

2015. Ed is shown above with

GM Mike Thomas and Assistant

GM Jim Poff.

New Hire

Mt. Zion Primary Career Day

Gerald Fuller and Sean Ware (D&C)

Jamar Durden and Kawanis Howell (Customer Service)

Morrow Civic Women’s Club

Lesley Rathburn (Water Quality Lab)

East Clayton Elementary School Career Day

Chasten Burns and Robert Kimball (Stormwater)

Daniel Dover and Kevin Chapman (D&C)

Reynolds Nature Preserve’s Wild Azalea Festival

Tim Allen and Hilda Flores (Call Center), Erin Brooks (D&C) and

Joe Williams (General Services)

Jackson Elementary Career Day

Melissa Hammond (Water Quality Lab)

Brittani Smith

Call Center CSR

Part-Time

Hire Date: 4/6/15

Lance Kelly

Recognized for

15 Years of Service

D&C Conveyance System

Repair Foreman Lance Kelly

celebrated 15 years of service with

CCWA on April 17, 2015. Lance is

shown above with Assistant GM

Bernard Franks, Conveyance

Supervisor Billy VonDenBosch and

GM Mike Thomas.

Meter Services Account Service Rep. Kenny Davis’ natural instincts took

over on April 27 when he saw a 16 year old boy with a puppy being attacked by

two pit bulls. The pit bulls were after the puppy and the boy was being attacked

in the process. Kenny jumped out of his truck and sprayed pesticide on the two

dogs. This distracted them for a moment, but they continued after the boy and

puppy. The boy eventually dropped the puppy and the dogs proceeded to

attack it. Kenny tried to help the puppy by getting his shovel and hitting one

of the dogs and swinging at the other. This allowed the boy to pick up the

puppy. Kenny took the boy and his puppy home. The boy had bites on his arms

and scratches on his back. He was treated and released and is doing

ok. Unfortunately, the puppy had to be put to sleep. This story has another

CCWA connection because the teen is the grandson of Smith Water

Production Plant Operator Chuck Jones. Chuck’s grandson certainly

could have been hurt a lot worse if it had not been for Kenny’s heroic actions.

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All CCWA Offices will be closed on Monday, May 25 in

observance of Memorial Day.

More Than 400 Residents Participate in Amnesty Day A big Thank You goes out to the CCWA employees who didn’t let the threat of rain keep them from volunteering at this

year’s Household Hazardous Waste Amnesty Day event on Saturday, April 25.

The day started off raining, but cleared up pretty quickly. We had 424 vehicles come through the event. As always, the

customers who brought waste were very appreciative of the annual event. Volunteers included: Jay Patel, Tim Allen,

Linda Allen, Hilda Flores, Kendra Stanciel, Karen Riser, Cornell Sims, John Patterson, Donyel Patton, Mike Holt,

Chris Hamilton, Marcus McLester, Chris Bond, Suzanne Brown, Shayla Nealy, Kevin Osbey and retiree Randy

Thamer. General Services staff included: Willie Sims, Tony Head, Leonard Moore, and Earnest Duffey.

Marcus McLester’s (SW) son,

Jamar, received a $2,000 H2Oppor-

tunity Undergraduate Scholarship

from the Georgia Association of Water

Professionals (GAWP).

Promotions Willie Moore

D&C Equipment Operator

Khalid Lemaitre Customer Service Specialist

Phillip Danford

Meter Services Account Service Rep.

A Chainsaw For A Water Line Repair?

You don’t typically think of reaching for

a chainsaw when repairing a water

line. Yet D&C’s David Watts, Larry

Eason and Chris Camp had to do

just that while making a repair on

Standby in early April. The roots

actually broke the cast iron pipe. If you

look closely, you can see David Watts

using the chainsaw to remove the roots so the repair could be made.

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CCWA Rolling Out New Emergency Communication System

Congratulations

to Our 2015

Graduates

Celeste Miller, daughter of Colette

Miller (Meter Services) will graduate

from Morrow High School on May

22, 2015. Celeste will attend Geor-

gia Southern University in the fall.

Brent Taylor (General Services) will

graduate from Mercer University on

May 16, 2015 with a Bachelor of

Applied Science Degree. He is

graduating Summa Cum Laude.

Lee Dixon (D&C) and his family

on the loss of his grandmother, Ms.

Louise Carmon, who passed away

on April 2, 2015.

Alaine Mort (HR) and her family

on the loss of her father, Mr. Carl

Gilgore, who passed away on

April 5, 2015.

Our Condolences Please keep the following employees

and their families in your thoughts

and prayers:

Warehouse Supervisor Mandy

Lindow and HR Training Specialist

Alaine Mort completed the Dirty

Girl 5K Mud Run on April 25 at

Atlanta Motor Speedway.

2015 Mini Conference Highlights

CCWA is implementing a new, comprehensive emergency notification system

called PREPARIS. The system is designed to help notify, prepare and protect

YOU in the event of an unexpected emergency.

One of the benefits of Preparis is that you control your contact information and

keep your profile up to date. Your home phone number, company cell phone

number or the cell phone number for which you receive a CCWA

cell phone allowance, are required. An emergency can happen any time

day or night. We strongly encourage you to include your personal cellphone

number as well so that we can get emergency information to you quickly.

You should have already received a registration e-mail entitled, “Welcome to

Preparis!” This e-mail contains your username and a system-generated

password along with a link to complete the registration process. When you

click on the link, you will be prompted to accept the Terms of Use and will then

be directed to the login page. Please bookmark this page and/or take note of

the URL in the web browser to ensure you can access the portal quickly in the

future. During registration, you will be taken to the profile page. Here, you can

change your password and update/complete your information. If you have not

already registered, you need to do so as soon as possible.

We are in the process of testing the new system. If you receive a test

message, it is very important that you respond as quickly as possible. In the

event of a true emergency, Preparis may be used to verify that employees are

safe. If you have any questions, contact Walter Barber at 770.960.5245.

We had another successful Mini Conference on April

22 with 67 employees in attendance.

CCWA presenters: Jay Patel, Jimmy Powell, Brent

Taylor, Donyel Patton, Bob Martin, Rob Rhew,

Justin Tucker, Doug Thomas, Melissa Hammond,

Walter Barber, Jonathan “Bo” Smith, Jeremy

Storm, Anthony Butler, Derrick Stroud and

Brandon Powell did a great job providing

informative sessions.

If you are interested in being a speaker next year,

contact Alaine Mort at x 5720 or 770.960.3720.

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CCWA Ambassadors’ Appreciation Luncheon

CCWA’s Ambassadors enjoyed lunch from Shane’s BBQ on March 31 in appreciation

of their work at school events, community events, facility tours and CCWA sponsored

events.

From December 2013 - February 2015, 96 Ambassadors reached 7,971 members of

our community during 49 outreach events. The Ambassadors also received new

CCWA Ambassador shirts to wear while representing the Authority at these events.

During the luncheon at the Shamrock CUB, Cornell Sims (Stormwater) was

recognized as the Outstanding Ambassador for participating in five school events,

the Southern Children’s Water Festival and volunteering for Amnesty Day and River’s

Alive. To learn more about becoming an Ambassador, contact Suzanne Brown at

770.960.6972.

Cornell Sims was recognized

by GM Mike Thomas and SW

Manager Kevin Osbey as the

Outstanding Ambassador.

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YOS

Zoe Bernal 5/1 9

Jeff Jones 5/1 26

Adam La Pierre 5/3 11

Guy Long 5/3 11

Jr Thompson 5/3 16

Mike Long 5/4 17

Mark Brown 5/6 30

Debbie Byrd 5/6 19

Tim Hampton 5/10 31

Walt Bobo 5/13 30

Anthony Butler 5/14 8

Benedict Tawiah 5/14 1

Tyrone Brooks 5/15 9

Mark Goss 5/17 11

Mandy Lindow 5/17 14

Mike Crews 5/19 12

Matt Bilz 5/22 15

Steven Kite 5/22 9

Marcus McLester 5/26 17

Brian Gibbs 5/27 12

John Landers 5/27 7

Kristen Tyson 5/27 1

Charles Carter 5/30 27

Bill Goddard 5/30 15

Garfield Cousins 5/31 4

Mike Newton 5/3

Mike Crews 5/5

Justin Donham 5/8

Bernard Franks 5/8

Allison Halron 5/10

Brandon Thomison 5/10

Dan Doss 5/14

Heather Downing 5/14

Miller Jordan 5/14

Henry Gleaton 5/16

Danny Haynes 5/16

Doug Lamb 5/16

Rob Rhew 5/16

Beverly Steward 5/19

Tommy Stephens 5/20

Tony Somerville 5/22

Rhonda Coots 5/26

Brent Lorentzen 5/26

Keith Lowry 5/26

Chris Cannon 5/27

Bill Goddard 5/28

Ed Johnson 5/31