Greensboro Water Department Supervisor Freddie Evans presented an update on the department earlier this week at the Greensboro City Council meeting.
The water department is part of Public Works/Utilities and is responsible for the maintenance and care of the city water distribution system and the sanitary sewer and disposal system on all water and sewer lines within city limits. It presently is staffed by four city personnel who service the utility within city limits.
Evans assured the council he has a great team in place and of its professionalism in servicing city needs. The city’s water source is Lake Oconee and its primary sewer treatment plant load is roughly 350,000 gallons per day. Water consumption for the city averages 700,000 gallons per day.
However, he said, staffing the department remains an ongoing concern. “There are a number
“There are a number of factors relative to this, namely experience, pay expectations, and valid and secure driver licensee and history,” Evans said.
Plus, “you can’t come into our city with pay expectations from working in a larger city,” he added. “We are a different beast.”
Evans went on to explain the ongoing challenge of fixing leaking lines, which can shrink in both cold and dry weather. The department also has been busy working on new sewer-line connections for new builds and meeting with both builders and companies on the infrastructure needs of Greensboro, he said.
Another area keeping the department busy is working with the city’s customer base and educating consumers of what the city is responsible for versus their own responsibilities.
“This is an important issue for the department,” Evans said. “The city does not work on all lines, just the sewer main. Customers share a big responsibility in maintaining lines. The city can assume liability to be called out repairing lines that don’t fall under department responsibilities.”
According to Greensboro City Manager Larry Postell, the water department has about a $1-million operating budget and is up for fiscal budget review.