|
By Kris R. Cash, APR I laughed when I first heard Zoe describe the way of rural water folks! Heads down, butts up, and shovels digging in to repair the countless leaks left in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Yet, this wonderful, outspoken woman was absolutely right. While the folks in New Orleans were looking for handouts, the people in rural America were already working to help themselves. Rural water people are help yourself and don’t wait for other people to come along,” said Zoe Bretzius-Bowers, Water Operator for Hancock County.
Zoe counts herself as a lucky one. Donna Armstrong, who assists Zoe with her work in Hancock County, lost everything to Katrina. As a matter of fact, Donna’s home site was recently bull dozed after the Center of Disease Control (CDC) condemned her entire community of Pass Christian Isles. There was too much damage and too many bodies missing in the area. It is just easier to start over or so officials told her. Yet, in spite of their personal tragedies, both ladies are hard at work in restoring the water to the Hancock System. Some areas will be easier to repair than others. Probably one of the hardest hit areas is Jordan River Estates. The storm surge just took everything. All that remains of the well site is a pipe sticking out of the ground and a tag that identifies a water well. Homes are gone. Boats sit in the middle of lots and locals hold the familiar “slab owner” meetings. “Slab owners” are those folks left in the wake of Katrina who now only own concrete slabs because their homes were completely washed away. One thing for sure, Zoe and Donna are big believers in Rural Water. Zoe is so committed to Rural Water that she tells folks, “Don’t send money to the Red Cross. Get on the Internet and find your State Rural Water and send money to them.” You see, when no one else was there to help, Mississippi Rural Water Association was first on the scene. “No one else could find us but Rural Water knew where to find us.” Kirby Mayfield, MsRWA Circuit Rider has been a constant resource to Zoe and Donna. There are sections of Hancock’s main line that are completely gone. Tanks have been washed away. She stated, “I was running on my instincts calling Kirby every 20 minutes saying, ‘Am I doing right?’” Zoe and Kirby would discuss the countless situations and come up with solutions that would help restore water. At one point, Zoe had a major question about the condition of her main storage tank. Kirby was able to refer her to some folks who provided immediate help.
Zoe is just a straight shooter and it is not surprising to see pliers and wrenches sticking out of her back pocket as she diligently makes the rounds through Hancock. Donna, is like a burst of sunshine, all smiles and constantly chirping along as Zoe mumbles through the next set of tasks. What a pair. They each live up to the rural water theory, “Heads Down and Butts Up”. Both women are not afraid of hard work and have been in to many ditches of late to even keep count. Their shovels are flying as they search for valves. They scramble under and over debris to find meter boxes. They have even had to stop a time or two when they catch the whiff of a putrid stench. Zoe hollers out, “Stop where you are we need to go back to the truck.” You see it is time for search and rescue to come and find another body before the ladies can go on with their water work. She does go on to say, “Things are improving, piles of debris are getting smaller. Four gas stations are now open and at least four restaurants are open, too.” This is a big improvement since October when the only place to eat was the soup kitchen of “Camp Hope.” Mind you now, the food at Camp Hope was excellent. They turned out three complete meals every day for the residents who were still trying to make it in the devastation and the workers there to help them.
It really goes to show you the dedication of rural water folks and their willingness to serve, serve, and serve again the people of their communities. Zoe had some great advice for rural water. She really considered her answer to the question, “What could National Rural Water do to better help Mississippi Rural Water Association help you if another Katrina struck next week?” Then in her forthright manner she answered. First, Rural Water needs to come up with an I.D. system for all water personnel. While local people know who their water folks are, the military and government officials do not. At times it was hard to gain access to the water system because there was no proof that we in fact were the water operators.
Third, paper and pens should be carried and delivered to all water system operators. Zoe, made an interesting point on this area. She said to look around me and look at all of the hurricane photos and ask, “What is missing?” Paper. There was absolutely no paper to be found anywhere. Why do you think so many signs were painted on plywood and tin. Nothing else remained but scraps of wood and metal. Fourth, she suggested that a communication network be setup with communication vehicles that could help improve cell phone communication as quickly as possible. Fifth, she recommended that each water system’s Capacity Development Plan and Emergency Response Guide be produced in duplicate and one kept off site in another location like the Rural Water Association office. As she said, “It is everything that you want to know about your water system. I’ll have to rebuild mine for the whole county.” Zoe’s was drenched by the storm surge but she managed to salvage it. Most, however, were destroyed. Finally, she tells me that working with your local Rural Water Association throughout the year is the best thing you can do. In an emergency it is Rural Water that makes a difference. “Once or twice a week they (rural water) came to check and see what was going on. Kirby was the first one here. (Then) Kirby and Randy were down here and they knew what needed to be done.” Zoe concluded. Related Stories -
### |
Rural
Water Folks Are Best Described as Heads Down and Butts Up!
Zoe
and her family currently live in a small Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA) trailer parked in the middle of her front yard. Her home
is filled with black mold and the bottom rungs of drywall have been
ripped out in an attempt to repair the home, which was flooded by
Katrina. 
Kirby
has even been called “dolly” a time or two by both ladies. You see,
they lost their main dolly for moving chlorine tanks to the
chlorinator. So, if Kirby is around they start hollering “dolly” and
sure enough Kirby is front and center with the biggest of grins ready to
pitch in and lend these ladies a hand. 
Now,
“The clean up crews are really tearing things up, pulling fire hydrants,
meters and valve boxes out of the ground,” Zoe wrote in a recent email.
It is so hard to imagine the countless hours of work that Zoe, Donna and
Mississippi Rural Water have put in just to have it undone over and over
again by the cleanup crews. However, when you see 10’ and 20’ piles of
debris everywhere it is easy to imagine how a fire hydrant or water line
can be snagged. 
Second,
all well sites should be tagged right at the well head with their code
and contact information. Towers, buildings, electrical panels and tanks
were washed away and in many situations only the wellhead remained.