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SPRING ISSUE 2016<br />
BIRMINGHAM<br />
WATER WORKS<br />
NEW &<br />
IMPROVED<br />
Employee Newsletter<br />
HEADLINE:<br />
Gearing up for ACE16<br />
DRINKING<br />
WATER WEEK<br />
2016 pg.7<br />
CCR<br />
Luncheon<br />
pg.4<br />
<strong>BWWB</strong><br />
EMPLOYEE OF<br />
THE MONTH<br />
pg.2<br />
WATER WORKS FOR<br />
THE COMMUNITY<br />
pg.6<br />
PRACTICE<br />
SAFTEY DAILY<br />
pg.7<br />
ALSO IN<br />
THIS ISSUE:
WATER WORKS FOR<br />
THE COMMUNITY<br />
H2O Foundation kicks-off<br />
annual campaign<br />
In an effort to reach out into the community<br />
and help customers, the Birmingham Water<br />
Works (BWW) has kicked off its annual<br />
Employee Payroll Deduction Campaign for<br />
2016 - 2017. The BWW is asking each<br />
employee to make a payroll deduction, or a<br />
onetime donation, to the Help 2 Others (H2O)<br />
Foundation for a worthy cause.<br />
CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP<br />
AND BILLING ON THE<br />
RIGHT TRACK<br />
SAP Phase 2 update<br />
"No matter how big or little you give it will<br />
tremendously help our customers as they<br />
continue to let us be their water providers,” said<br />
H2O Foundation Coordinator Joyce Jordan.<br />
The campaign began on June 6 and will<br />
continue through June 17. The H2O Foundation<br />
was established in 2003 to assist customers<br />
with paying their water bills, as well as<br />
plumbing repair costs. 2<br />
-<br />
Board of Directors<br />
Ronald A. Mims<br />
Chairman/President<br />
Kevin B. McKie, Esq.<br />
First Vice-Chairman/ First Vice President<br />
Ann D. Florie<br />
Second Vice-Chairman/ Second Vice President<br />
Dr. George Munchus<br />
Secretary-Treasurer<br />
Sherry W. Lewis<br />
Assistant Secretary-Treasurer<br />
Executive Staff<br />
Mac Underwood<br />
General Manager<br />
Darryl R. Jones, P.E.<br />
Assistant General Manager<br />
Operations and Technical Services<br />
T.M. “Sonny” Jones IV, P.E.<br />
Assistant General Manager<br />
Engineering and Maintenance<br />
Michael Johnson, CPA<br />
Assistant General Manager<br />
Finance and Administration<br />
Dorian Kendrick,<br />
Lewis & Company<br />
Editor<br />
BreAndrea Rudolph,<br />
Lewis & Company<br />
Creative Director<br />
The Birmingham Water Works (BWW) has decided to move<br />
forward with its Realization Phase of the Customer Relationship<br />
and Billing (CR&B) project. The purpose of the Realization<br />
Phase is to build and test the complete business and system<br />
environment, develop training materials and end-user documentation,<br />
in addition to obtaining business sign-offs. The<br />
graph above depicts the BWW's movement along the roadmap<br />
as progress is being made through the Realization Phase,<br />
approaching final prep.<br />
"The entire BWW Team is working very hard to meet the<br />
various deadlines in conjunction with daily responsibilities,”<br />
said Business Systems/Transformation Manager Barry<br />
Williams.<br />
"BWW will continue to have great representation from all<br />
departments,” said Williams.<br />
As the team moves closer to Go-Live, like with all projects,<br />
higher stress levels are anticipated. Therefore, thank you<br />
everyone in advance for your patience and understanding.<br />
“We look forward with great anticipation and excitement as<br />
work on the CR&B project continues,” said Williams.<br />
2
DRINKING WATER WEEK 2016<br />
Customers learn the value of water<br />
-<br />
Willie Waterdrop greeting customers in the Call Center.<br />
In an effort to draw awareness to drinking<br />
water and healthy living, the Birmingham<br />
Water Works (BWW) joined forces with the<br />
American Water Works Association (AWWA)<br />
to campaign Drinking Water Week (DWW).<br />
For more than 35 years the AWWA and its<br />
members have celebrated DWW – a time<br />
where both water professionals and the<br />
communities they serve join together in<br />
recognizing the vital role water plays in our<br />
daily lives.<br />
"Celebrating Drinking Water Week is an<br />
easy way to educate the public, connect<br />
Students gather to create slime during the school program’s award ceremony held at Regions Field.<br />
with the community and promote employee<br />
morale,” said Executive Assistant Anitra<br />
Hendrix. "Too often, water utilities receive<br />
publicity only when something bad happens<br />
- a water main breaks in the middle of rush<br />
hour or you have to raise your rates, again.<br />
Drinking Water Week celebrations allow an<br />
opportunity for positive communication."<br />
Throughout the week customers participated<br />
in the BWW’s Fruit Infusion Challenge,<br />
where they posted selfies drinking water and<br />
fruit-infused recipes to Facebook. DWW also<br />
served as the perfect time to educate children<br />
about their water supply in an atmosphere<br />
of fun. With this in mind, the BWW closed<br />
the week with its annual community<br />
outreach program - Learning the Wonderful<br />
Works of Water Award Ceremony. Students<br />
from Gardendale, Lipscomb and C.J.<br />
Donald Elementary Schools shared what<br />
they learned and love about water during the<br />
poster contest award ceremony held at<br />
Regions Field. Students learned how the<br />
BWW provides clean, safe drinking water for<br />
the public. 2<br />
Practice Safety Daily<br />
Safety isn’t just about preventing falls and slips, or labeling hazardous<br />
materials. The core objective of safety is to protect a company’s most<br />
valuable resource: its employees.<br />
“My goal is to ensure that employees arrive home safely just like they<br />
left – uninjured,” said Cortez Tolbert, <strong>BWWB</strong> Safety Officer. “Safety<br />
First on our t-shirt sleeves promotes safety awareness and sends the<br />
message to employees and the public that Birmingham Water Works is<br />
serious about<br />
safety.”<br />
When employees have to deal with situations – coworkers<br />
being injured – they become distracted.Distractions lead to a<br />
loss in productivity and poor work quality. Too often these<br />
distractions lead to other workplace accidents, said Tolbert.<br />
Workers thrive, however, in safe, healthy environments and<br />
that is the ultimate goal of the <strong>BWWB</strong>’s safety program.<br />
“We’re serious about safety and have no problem wearing<br />
our feelings on our sleeve,” said Tolbert.<br />
3
Surrounding water utilities attended the luncheon to gather first-hand knowledge of set rules and regulations.<br />
<strong>BWWB</strong> HOSTS ANNUAL CCR LUNCHEON<br />
Water Issues, Lead Contamination and More Discussed<br />
The Birmingham Water Works (BWW) 2016<br />
Consumer Confidence Report (CCR)<br />
Luncheon was held at the Anthony L. Barnes<br />
Conference Center, with Industrial and<br />
Commercial Account Superintendent Johnnie<br />
Mayfield serving as the coordinator of the<br />
event.<br />
copper rules and regulations.<br />
The luncheon’s guest speakers included<br />
Tom Littlepage from the Montgomery<br />
Office of Water Resources, as well as<br />
Dennis Harrison, Laura Taylor and<br />
William McClimans of ADEM. Littlepage<br />
spoke about water concerns for future<br />
water intakes in the state of Alabama, while<br />
Harrison and Taylor discussed the lead and<br />
copper inventory regulation.<br />
JUST ADD WATER<br />
Improve the quality of your life.<br />
Annual Water Quality Report 2016<br />
BIRMINGHAM<br />
WATER WORKS<br />
2016 CCR.<br />
The BWW collaborated with the Alabama<br />
Department of Environmental Management<br />
(ADEM) and surrounding water utilities to<br />
discuss what is happening in the water<br />
industry. Attendees were able to ask questions<br />
and receive updates over new technology and<br />
information from regulatory agencies. The<br />
luncheon covered environmental management<br />
updates, in addition to the new lead and<br />
Furthermore, Assistant General Manager<br />
Operations and Technical Services, Darryl<br />
Jones provided brief updates on the<br />
changing lead issues. As lead and copper<br />
matters continue to be placed on the<br />
forefront of people’s minds in the U.S.,<br />
BWW has remained active in testing its<br />
source water, as well as finished water, for<br />
any lead contamination.<br />
Mayfield said he hopes those in attendance<br />
gained a better perspective on the new lead<br />
regulation, which was released May 31st.<br />
BWW General Manager Mac Underwood<br />
recently traveled to Washington, D.C. to<br />
meet with the Enviormental Protection<br />
Agency (EPA) regarding this topic. 2<br />
Assistant General Manager - Operations and Technical Services<br />
Darryl Jones speaks to attendees at the annual luncheon.<br />
-<br />
4
GEARING UP FOR ACE16<br />
Top Ops and Tapping Teams prepare for annual competition<br />
Tap, tap, tap, tap, SPLOOSH! Water comes<br />
rushing out of the pipe, only to be rerouted<br />
into hollow copper tubes attached to a faucet.<br />
“TIME,” the coach calls after the Tapping<br />
Team finishes. As easy as this sounds, it takes<br />
speed, precision and solid teamwork to tap into<br />
a water pipeline and route it to a faucet without<br />
leaks – all in a minute and twelve seconds, one<br />
of their slower runs.<br />
I had the pleasure of sitting down with the<br />
men’s Tapping Team members Lakell<br />
Freeman, Todd Stewart, Johnny Bittles, Jerry<br />
Storey and coach Trey Finch. When first asked<br />
how important teamwork is in the competition,<br />
the response was, there is no possible way to<br />
compete without a cohesive team ready for<br />
action. The men described the competition as<br />
very intense and said their favorite part, other<br />
than the competition itself of course, the<br />
camaraderie and the different people they are<br />
able to meet. The group even has contacts they<br />
still keep in touch with from competing over<br />
the years.<br />
The competition is set in Chicago this year at<br />
the McCormick Place Convention Center from<br />
June 19 - 22. Competitors will arrive for a meet<br />
and greet event on the eve of the American<br />
Water Works Association's (AWWA's) 2016<br />
Annual Conference & Exposition (ACE 16) –<br />
the only event that covers every segment of the<br />
water business.<br />
Birmingham Water Works (BWW) is looking to<br />
meet its rivals from the Mexico teams who have<br />
won the National Competition for the last two<br />
years. Over their career, the BWW Men’s<br />
Tapping Team have consecutively made it to<br />
the finals for 22 years, in addition to treading<br />
-<br />
a path to win the World Cup six times!<br />
“We wish them luck during these final weeks<br />
before the ACE16 competition,” said Finch.<br />
ACE 16 provides an environment where water<br />
professionals can lead and learn from leaders in<br />
the water industry, in addition to providing<br />
solutions to water sector challenges that address<br />
the full spectrum of the issue. Topics range<br />
from research and planning, to treatment and<br />
management.<br />
The annual event will showcase a wide range<br />
of products and services related to water<br />
sectors from leading exhibitors, such as<br />
Men’s Tapping Team members preparing to compete with other water systems areound the US.<br />
distribution system analysis & equipment,<br />
conservation, GIS, certification, pumps,<br />
groundwater, meters, flow meter, water supply,<br />
wastewater, treatment, equipment, leak,<br />
backflow prevention, pipe equipment, safety<br />
equipment, valves, gates, instrumentation,<br />
chemical equipment, construction equipment,<br />
modeling, software, management, consultant,<br />
monitoring equipment and corrosion. There<br />
will be more than 500 exhibitors in attendance,<br />
in addition to more than 11,500 visitors. 3<br />
The following teams will compete from the<br />
Birmingham Water Works:<br />
Ladies’ Tapping Team<br />
BAMA Bells<br />
April Nabors - Feeder<br />
Jacqueline Ingram- Puller<br />
Frerica Smith- Copper<br />
Timothy Harris- Coach<br />
Men’s Tapping Team<br />
AL/MS Section<br />
Johnathan Bittles - Feeder<br />
Lorenzo Clay- Puller<br />
Paul Bethune- Copper<br />
Mark Kirkland- Coach<br />
Top Ops Team<br />
Meter Madness Team<br />
Tina Webb- Coach<br />
Donald Temptation- Competitor<br />
Jordan Mitchell- Competitor<br />
Men’s Tapping Team<br />
<strong>BWWB</strong><br />
Johnny Bittles- Feeder<br />
Jerry Storey– Puller<br />
Todd Stewart– Copper<br />
Lakell Freeman– Assistant<br />
Trey Finch- Coach<br />
Scott Gormley<br />
Ronald Brock<br />
Derrick Stephens<br />
Bill Shikle- Coach<br />
5
Water Works<br />
Staff Updates<br />
Retirees:<br />
December:<br />
Lila Baldwin, Call Center<br />
Terry Clark, Cahaba Pump Station<br />
James Conner, Leak Utility I<br />
Roger Davis, Meter Reading<br />
Bill Guier, SCADA<br />
Ellan Hawkins, Call Center<br />
Jesse Inman, IT Programming<br />
Arrie James, Leak Utility I<br />
Melvin Jefferson, Accounting<br />
Shirley Lyles, Payment Center<br />
Cary Prather, Environmental Services<br />
Billy Rhodes, SCADA<br />
Howard Russell, Field Services<br />
Greg Singleton, IT<br />
Alfred Watson, Transportation<br />
Everett Wesley, Utility Worker I<br />
January:<br />
William Guier,Scada System Analyst,<br />
Gregory Singleton, Business Systems.<br />
Alfred Watson, Sr. -<br />
Automotive Technician<br />
Feburary:<br />
Tony Blankenship, Accountant II,<br />
Paul Phillips, Distribution,<br />
March:<br />
Jesse Inman, Business Systems Arch.,<br />
Billy Rhodes, Technician -<br />
Communication<br />
April:<br />
Ellan Hawkins, Supt. Call Center<br />
May:<br />
Michael Skinner - Residual Pant<br />
Operator I<br />
New Hires:<br />
December:<br />
Johnathan Crawford, Operator I<br />
Danny Cunningham, Operator I<br />
Carl Daniels, Leak Utility I<br />
Evan Epperson, Maintenance - Pu<br />
Eric Foster, Sr. Automotive Technician<br />
Christopher Green, Leak Utility I<br />
Darnell Hubbard, Leak Utility I<br />
Terry King, PMW Trainee<br />
Randell Miller, Leak Utility I<br />
Rosalyn Newby, Call Center Rep. III<br />
Reginald Perry Sr., Maintenance - Di<br />
Demetric Price, Meter Reader I<br />
Derrick Vincent, Maintenance - Di<br />
January:<br />
Timothy Woods, Maintenance-Di<br />
Christopher Bedgood, Maintenance-Di<br />
Marcus Hunter, Supt. Payment Center<br />
Feburary:<br />
Danny Cunningham, Operator I<br />
Eric Foster, Sr. Automotive Technician<br />
Derrick Vincent, Maintenance- Di<br />
March<br />
Evan Epperson, Maintenance - Pu<br />
Christopher Green, Leak Utility I<br />
Darnell Hubbard, Leak Utility I<br />
Terry King, PMW Trainee<br />
Randell Miller, Leak Utility I<br />
Reginald Perry Sr., Maintenance - Di<br />
Carl Daniels - Leak Utility I<br />
James Hollingsworth, PMW Trainee<br />
April:<br />
Patricia Jones, Security Guard Part Time<br />
James Conner, Leak Utility I<br />
***Di - Distribution<br />
Pu - Purfication<br />
Promotion:<br />
December:<br />
Patrick Dillard, Operation I Trainee<br />
Peter Del-Re, Operation I Trainee<br />
Rashaun Gibson, Operation I Trainee<br />
David Goodwin, Utility Worker I<br />
LaVanual Henderson, Utility Worker I<br />
Franklin Kennedy, PMW Trainee<br />
A'Khi King, Operation I Trainee<br />
Christopher Landrum, GIS Tech.<br />
Dusty Murphy, Maintenance Mechanic I<br />
Latasia Sanford, Human Resource Business<br />
Joseph Stanford, Operator Pump Station<br />
Emmett Terry, Clerical Assistant<br />
Nelda Thompkins, Bld Attnt/ Messenger<br />
Cornelious Tolbert, Utility Worker<br />
Anton Whitt, Leak Utility II<br />
Tony Williams, Utility Worker II<br />
January:<br />
Doney Childrey, Water Accountability Tech<br />
William Gunn, Water Accountability Tech<br />
Jerome Little, Jr.,Water Accountability Tech<br />
Charles Foster, Utility Worker II<br />
Olivia Leonard, Distribution Specialist I<br />
Febuary:<br />
Robert Box, Meter Setter I<br />
Paul Chatta, Maintenance Mechanic II<br />
LaVanual Henderson, Utility Worker I<br />
Franklin Kennedy, PMW Trainee<br />
Josep Stanford, Operator- Pump Station<br />
Anton Whitt, Leak Utility II<br />
Tony Williams, Utility Worker<br />
March:<br />
Darren Blout, Water Quality Technician<br />
Kenneth Finch III, Scada System Analyst<br />
Derek Robinson, Superintendent- Service<br />
Emmett Terry, Clenical Assistant<br />
Austin Trammell, Inspector- Construction<br />
Charles Childress, Water Accountability Tech<br />
Geraldine Davis, Supt. Call Center<br />
Marsha Hammonds, IT Sys. Support Supervisor<br />
Ronald Mallette, Inspector- Construction<br />
Tamera Rembert, Call Center Rep. III<br />
Austin Trammell, Inspector- Construction<br />
April<br />
Billy Gulledge, Inspector- Revenue Meter<br />
Justin Kirkland, Backflow Inspector<br />
Frank Phillips, Watershed Protection Spec<br />
Patrick Dillard, Operator I Trainee<br />
Dusty Murphy, Maintenance Mechanic I
BIRMINGHAM WATER WORK’S<br />
Employee of the Month<br />
December:<br />
January:<br />
Jonathan Malloy and April Nabors were nominated by the<br />
Training and Organizational Development<br />
Security Dept. front row: Franklin “Seth” Kennedy, Kevin<br />
Miller, Scott Starkey, Ingra McCurdy, Christopher Hill,<br />
Philip Henson, Terrell Jones, Priscilla Lowry (Not<br />
pictured),Back Row, Charles Childress,Timothy Payne,<br />
Jimmy Bonner<br />
Jesse Inman<br />
Febuary:<br />
March:<br />
Brent Zeanah<br />
Training Team: Morgan Dill, Cortez Tolbert,Marilyn<br />
Vertison, Rhonda Lewis, Meridith Hollins, & Derrick<br />
Gooden<br />
Jerome Little, Willie Lee, Doney Childrey, & Jeremiah Polk<br />
April:<br />
May:<br />
Ricky Williams<br />
Engineering and Maintenance Division: Charles Foster- (Utility<br />
Worker II), Eric Garrick - (Utility Worker I), LaVanual Henderson<br />
- (Utility Worker I), John Jackson - (Field Supervisor), Price<br />
Lanier - (Distribution Maintenance Worker), Terrance Peck -<br />
(Distribution Maintenance Worker), Reginald Perry - (Distribution<br />
Maintenance Worker), John Roper, Sr. - (Utility Worker)
BIRMINGHAM<br />
WATER WORKS<br />
Footnotes: 1 Wire Reports; 2 Staff Reports; 3 Chris Ruffin Jr. & John Pitts<br />
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