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By Kris R. Cash, APR What do you do after 145 m.p.h. winds and 20 foot storm surges inundate your state, leaving a path of destruction 100’s of miles wide? Just to be followed by a second hurricane that brings similar devastation within the month? If you are a Louisiana rural water operator, you call on the ‘Band of Brothers.’ This unique group from the Louisiana Rural Water Association brings hope, help and solutions to those men and women who are trying to put their lives and water systems back together after Hurricane Katrina and Rita left their marks on Southern Louisiana. The Louisiana ‘Band of Brothers’ has always been close. They have a tendency to do everything together, whether it is cooking for state dignitaries or hosting meetings across the state for their rural water operators. Where ever you see one of the members of Louisiana Rural Water Association (LRWA), you are bound to find another one close by helping the thousands of water systems within the state. This concept of togetherness proved to be the key link in providing fast and effective assistance to rural water systems in the wake of the two hurricanes that hit the state back-to-back. Preparing for Katrina Katrina, a Category 4 hurricane made landfall on the Mississippi / Louisiana boarder along the Central Gulf Coast near Buras-Triumph, Louisiana on August 29, 2005.
The official death toll stands around 1,300 and the damage over $100 billion. Over a million people were displaced; thus causing a humanitarian crisis on a scale unseen in the U.S. since the Great Depression. Prior to the storm’s arrival, Louisiana Rural Water Association’s Executive Director, Pat Credeur, began making preparations. “One of my employees, Robert Dugas who I hired from a water system a year ago is a member of the Emergency Management in Livingston Parish,” Credeur said. ” We were talking about Katrina coming our way; and, we knew it was a Category 5 when we looked at it in the Gulf. And he said (Dugas), ‘You know boss we are going to get hit hard.’ I said, ‘I know.’ We are going to have to set up a command center.” Dugas indicated that Livingston Parish had some property just a couple of miles away from the Livingston Parish Emergency Operations Center. In no time at all, property was secured for Louisiana Rural Water Association. Already, the ‘Band of Brothers’ was preparing for the crisis headed their way. “I went and rented a trailer 12x60. Went and got 20 cots. Went and rented a refrigerator. Got us a copier. Then I got my motor home over there. I was using my camper as an office.,” Credeur said. When we didn’t have power, Dugas, got on the phone to the president of the parish. The next thing you know an electrician was out there and we were hooked up to power. Every time LRWA needed something, Dugas would get on the phone and within 1-24 hours it was done. If you recall the old television show M*A*S*H, Dugas is very much like the character Radar. He just gets on the phone and before you know it the necessary supplies are secured for the operation. Katrina Hits
The ‘Brothers’ thought their original job would be to find out the extent of the damage to their member water systems. As it turned out, their first mission would be even more basic. It was to help the people in these devastated communities. As Louisiana Rural Water Association left out of the command center and entered the torn landscape for the first time, they discovered time and again that they were the first and only “official” people to make it to the obliterated parishes. Imagine yourself riding along through broken trees, crushed houses and downed power lines. The few people that you see have a haunted look about their eyes. There is little energy in them and they are just trying to comprehend the complete fact that their world is no longer what it was just a short week ago. You find that they have no stored water for drinking. There is nothing to eat except the few meager supplies they may have had before the storm hit. There are no diapers for the children. There is nothing. Absolutely NOTHING! If you are a rural water association employee, you quickly find that your duty of providing technical assistance to a water system has changed to a much greater charge. You are now the person providing comfort to those who have lost their entire lives in the blink of an eye. Credeur summed it up well when he said, “You know we learned one thing about this both hurricanes that we are not circuit riders anymore. We became psychologists, listening posts, because these people wanted someone to talk to and wanted somebody to go to who cared.” In the initial days following Katrina, Louisiana Rural Water Association, hauled in bottled water and Meals Ready to Eat (MRE’s) to the people. They got on the phone and secured a bunch of poly tanks so communities with no water could quickly establish a bulk water supply. Louisiana Rural Water Association not only got the tanks into the communities, but they provided the link to maintain the tanks and get fresh water into them daily. In one case, LRWA’s Circuit Rider, Rusty Reeves, found out about an individual desperately needing insulin. Reeves drove 20 miles until he could get a communication connection and then got on the radio and called back to the command center explaining the need for medical supplies. His action to go beyond his regular duties and provide true concern for a fellow human in need secured the necessary insulin before day’s end. Truly, the Band of Brothers was about action and results. Water After Katrina
Initially, other agencies tried to take the lead in this area. However, after a couple of days, it became obvious that action was needed and not just paperwork. LRWA’s ‘Band of Brothers’ broke off into teams. By now, workers from other rural water associations had arrived in Livingston. LRWA matched their staff with folks from out of state. They left every morning in teams, stayed together all day and then returned to the command center at days end. Initially, we were operating in overdrive putting in 15-20 hour days. Generators were the major problem. There was absolutely no power to any of the water and wastewater systems so generators were the only option. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) wasn’t able to provide the necessary equipment within a timely manner so LRWA went a different route. Actually, some of the first generators found LRWA. Dennis Sternberg, Executive Director for Arkansas Rural Water Association, showed up in the middle of the night with two generators for Louisiana. He drove straight through. Talk about a sight for sore eyes. LRWA kept finding more generators from systems not affected by the storm. Or, people like Dennis trucked them in from other states. “We just made the situation work,” Credeur said. As soon as a system was back in power the generators went to the next location. It was a challenge keeping them in fuel. It seems that fuel would be provided to city halls, fire, police, and hospitals. Yet, more often than not there would be arguments that fuel for a water system generator was not an emergency even though emergency responders would need water to provide safe working conditions for their very services. Interesting.
LRWA’s command center at Livingston Parish became the central staging area for many others. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) asked if they could stage out of our site along with the Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH). FEMA even joined us there after awhile. Since LRWA was there along with all of the others. Shipments of MRE’s, clothing, ice, FEMA’ blue roofing and loads of other items began to roll into the command center. What started off as Rural Water’s staging area became the hub of operations for 10-12 parishes. Budweiser even sent in 18-wheelers of canned water that could be distributed to communities who had no potable drinking water. Community Supports Rural Water As Louisiana and other State Rural Water Associations poured out the help to reestablish water and wastewater services, the nearby parishes took care of rural water. Every night 80-90 meals were brought to the command center. Local churches took turns cooking for all of the water crews and truck drivers supporting the water efforts. After being in the field all day, it was a real blessing to everyone. Sternberg with Arkansas Rural Water recalled, “Those folks in Louisiana were most appreciative of the water people. They came every morning asking if there was anything we need.” Parish Presidents and State Senators checked on our progress and asked if the ‘Band of Brothers’ needed anything. If there turned out to be a need and it was within their ability to meet it, within 24 hours or less it usually appeared. You can really count on rural folks to take care of others. Thomas Dorr, Under Secretary for Rural Development, U.S. Department of Agriculture
The ‘Band of Brothers’ pulled together, as they do so well, and cooked for Dorr and his group. Running late because of all the pulls on his time and the sheer impact of all the devastation, Dorr was ready for a break when he finally ended up in Rural Water’s care. He had many kind words for all of the efforts put out by the rural water teams and listened to things he could do to help from the federal level. Then he was off again in a rush for more touring and more visits to view the chaos left behind by Katrina. Meanwhile, Hurricane Rita, was rumbling around in the Gulf and looked like she would make landfall around the Galveston / Houston area. On Thursday morning, September 22, 2005 the decision was made to let the ‘Band of Brothers’ take a much needed break. They had been hard at it for 3 weeks with only a couple of 24-hour furlough. As it turned out this decision was a godsend. Credeur, headed over to the Eastern part of Louisiana to check on a few things and then went across the state line to meet with Pete Boone, Executive Director for Mississippi Rural Water Association. They both knew that Dorr had an early morning meeting and rural water was invited. When Boone and Credeur entered the conference room, Dorr paused for an instant upon recognizing rural water. Soon his conversation turned to the efforts of rural water and their important role in helping repair the infrastructure of both states after Katrina. “I got to see him (Dorr) the next day and he talked to Pete and I both. He was very appreciative of what we were doing. Talked about National, too. I had never had a chance to speak to him (before Katrina); but we talked a little more in Mississippi,” Credeur said. After visiting with Dorr, Credeur and Boone exchanged information on Rural Water’s efforts in both states. About 10:00 a.m. and only a couple of hours into the planned day in Mississippi, Credeur got a call from his office. Hurricane Rita had turned North. She was going to hit right on the Louisiana / Texas border. A couple of quick handshakes and it was back on the road to get ready for the next storm. Thank goodness, the ‘Band of Brothers’ were already in route to their own homes so they could prepare. Rita Rumbles Into Town
The already tired ‘Band of Brothers’ shifted their focus from the East to the West. A new command center was setup at Louisiana Rural Water Association’s office in Kinder. Credeur brought his motor home from Livingston Parish to the back lot of LRWA’s office. The office’s training room was turned into makeshift living quarters with cots. Portable outdoor showers for dozens of local and out-of-state crews were setup. The close knit group of men, fondly referred to as the ‘Band of Brothers’ would grow even closer over the next 4 weeks while responding to Rita. “We have become family,” Credeur said, “We’ve been working, living, praying, eating and sleeping together since Katrina.” Which turns out to be over 8 weeks of togetherness for these men. Relief efforts would focus primarily on Cameron Parish, the hardest hit area in the wake of Rita. Rita Response
Nine out of ten system operators sustained damage to their homes if not the total loss of their property. One operator for Cameron Parish #7, Kent LaBove, drove up to his home site to find everything gone including the house. “It just wasn’t there,” he said. He found his home a few days later. The storm surge had picked it up and dumped it in the middle of a pond over three miles from its original location. Now that is the raw power of nature, when your home is picked up and moved three miles away. The funny thing about it, the home was still recognizable. Except for 4 feet of water, 12 cotton mouth snakes, and tons of mud; the house was pretty much the same. Clothing still hung in the closets and knickknacks were still on top of the refrigerator.
The teams put in 20-hour days as they worked to restore the water and wastewater services to Cameron, Grand Lake, Hackberry, Holly Beach, Johnson Bayou and surrounding areas. There was so much that needed to be done. The things encountered would blow your mind. Crews would do anything from comforting a water operator and his family who had lost their entire homestead to running off alligators before they could start looking for leaks and making repairs. Daily tasks ranged from flushing and disinfecting systems to finding lines and taking water samples. Generators were again the first priority in the days immediately following Rita. The generator secured for the Kinder office was diverted to a water system as soon as LRWA staff learned the command center had already received regular power. A major difference for the ‘Band of Brothers’ between responding to Rita and Katrina was the fact that they were based out of their home office in Kinder. This time the ‘Brothers’ had the direct assistance from the rest of the staff who work for Louisiana Rural Water Association. Melinda Ardoin, Patricia Broussard, Angela Hargrave, Wendy LaFleur, and Lori Sonnier were no longer just voices over the phone relaying information. The ‘Brothers’ were back home, close to their ‘Sisters.’ The ‘Sisters’ were right there on the scene and they made all the difference in the world. You could say they were an incredible steadying point and were right there pitching in when things got crazy. You could call them the ‘League of Sisters.’ During Katrina and Rita these staff members took turns manning the office everyday including weekends. They rotated their agendas to make ends meet and pick up the duties of the guys in the field. They orchestrated schedules and got EPA and DHH settled into the Kinder command center. They even joined their ‘Brothers’ in the field so they could gain a first hand understanding of Rita’s wreckage. After the Storms The staff of Louisiana Rural Water Association will never be the same after the storms of 2005. Once colleagues, now ‘brothers’ and ‘sisters’ these rural water caretakers have survived some of life’s greatest challenges. They have lived in close company for weeks on end. Listened to each other’s heartbreaks and put up with each other’s quirks. They have gone out on calls trying to restore water to systems only to find people needing more basic help and they were the only individuals there to provide it. So they did even though that wasn’t in their job description. They were asked to be counselors, first responders and people of unending compassion and complete dedication. They worked long hours side-by-side, holding each other up so they could in turn deliver help to the water systems ravaged by the storms. The journey of the ‘Band of Brothers’ and ‘League of Sisters’ through the storms wake should be an inspiration to all the Rural Water family. Their efforts epitomize the best of all of Rural Water and sing of hope after the storm. Related Stories - Rural Water System Discovers New Source of Help in the Wake of Hurricane Katrina Rural Water Folks are Best Described as Heads Down and Butts Up! ### |
‘Band
of Brothers’ Battle Hurricanes
The
Louisiana ‘Band of Brothers’ then had to wait for Katrina’s arrival.
Once she made landfall, the LRWA crew met at the Livingston Command
Center, which turned out to be in just the right location. Close enough
to the devastation to get help out quickly but far enough away it was
not wiped out by the storm’s thunderous winds. 
The
affects of Hurricane Rita were very different than those of Hurricane
Katrina. Rita left a tremendous amount of water damage from her
terrible storm surge. The majority of water and wastewater systems
along the coast were just ripped apart. 