|
Kris R. Cash, APR Hide-A-Way Lake was formed in 1969 and is a gated community in Southern Mississippi which provides water to 941 residences. Up until Hurricane Katrina, this little system just rolled along without much assistance from outsiders. In the aftermath of one of America’s most devastating storms, Hide-A-Way Lake suddenly found itself without power for its water system. Water became an issue for the community which was without power immediately after the storm. According to Bruce DeVillier, Hide-A-Way Lake General Manager, "We were dependent on our aged generator at Well #2. Unfortunately, two days after the storm, the generator failed and attempts to repair it were unsuccessful. Numerous requests to FEMA and government officials for the loan of a generator were met with negative results. Last on our list to call was Mississippi Rural Water Association. Of all that we contacted, the only one to come to our aid was MRWA. Within ten minutes from placing our call, Mr. K.T. Newman, Source Water Tech for MRWA, had made arrangements to provide us a loaner. Late Saturday, September 3, The Mississippi Rural Water Association came to our rescue having made arrangements with the town of Lonoke, Arkansas for the loan of a generator."
“Mississippi Rural Water Association (MRWA) has tremendously helped us. During the hurricane we were at our last leg.” stated Elizabeth. When Hide-A-Way Lake couldn’t locate a generator by going through what it considered normal channels its maintenance man, Mr. Leo suggested contacting rural water. “Efforts were made to go through normal channels but we found out that rural water was the source,” Elizabeth recalled. She went on to say, “Now we know they are there for us. And we are definitely going to be utilizing them.” Elizabeth started with Hide-a-Way in May, 2005 and the General Manager, Bruce Devillier, went to work for the system in July, 2004. They were both relatively new when Katrina roared through and prior to her vicious strike they had no experience with rural water. “Some positive things have definitely come out of the storm. I’m glad that they (rural water) are available. It is nice to know that they are there to help. I’m not sure that I really realized it or that Bruce did. It is nice to know we are not alone,” stated Elizabeth. One of the best things about Mississippi Rural Water is, “You don’t have to know it all,” Elizabeth recounted.
In the short time since they first received help after Katrina, Elizabeth and Bruce have brought MRWA in for board management training. Elizabeth said, “It helped tremendously. I’m new in this position and I learned a lot. We will definitely be putting some procedures into place.” “That class was very informative. One of the things we picked up was the seriousness of it. The responsibility of the water personnel for all the procedures, the testing, tracking, and chemicals. It is so important to hire someone responsible who knows what they are doing,” stated Elizabeth. She went on to say, “I’m going to be using them (MRWA) as a contact in the future. We are looking into a new billing system for our water system and I definitely am going to be using them. I’m so glad that the are there for us to contact and to ask questions.” During the storm, Elizabeth and her family evacuated to Jackson, MS. She had a responsibility to her 7-year-old daughter to keep her safe and teach her the seriousness of a hurricane. She recounted that prior to the storm she came to work on Friday morning and heard the storm was going to Miami. Next, she went home to be with my family on Friday. On, Saturday she got a call that said the storm was coming. She recalled, “It was a Category 2 on Saturday and on Sunday morning it was a Category 5.” Amazingly she said, “A lot of people stayed. The lake was fine, no problem with flooding. The wind caused most of the damage along with tornadoes to the community.” She went on to say, “We wanted to come back Tuesday but we finally came back on Thursday because we did not know the condition of the roads. We live in the rural part of Mississippi and had many down lines. We were lucky when we came back on the backcountry roads. It was just hit and miss in damage. The biggest damages were to the trees from the wind and tornadoes.” “This is my philosophy. Just be positive. We are lucky where we live a shingle here or there was gone and a window was broke. But, no matter if we lost everything we had our family. It is all about family,” Elizabeth said. And after family water is next on the list. Elizabeth recalled her personal water experience with Katrina, “Water! I didn’t have water or electricity. I wanted the water back before the electricity. And that is the majority of the people. When you can’t brush your teeth, wash your hands after working out in the yard all day after cleaning up the debris. You need your water!” “We just appreciate Mississippi Rural Water Association!” Elizabeth summarized.Bruce reiterated the same thought when he said, "We appreciate all that your association, especially Mr. Newman, has done for us. Next time, Mississippi Rural Water Association will be by first call." Related Stories - ### |
Rural
Water System Discovers New Source of Help in the Wake of Hurricane
Katrina
“No offense but we were calling all of
the other people higher up. When we called Mississippi Rural Water,
‘BOOM’, within 10 minutes they responded back to us and had a
generator. The community was just ecstatic.,” said Elizabeth
Rancatore, Hide-A-Way Lake Administrative Assistant. 
She is so thrilled with the help from
rural water that she said, “ We'll definitely be using them as a
networking association.”