Out and About
We went to press before we knew the outcome of the water board election. I do know that we will have more individuals voting in this water board election than in any previous water board election due to proxies not automatically being mailed to every member and the availability of absentee and early voting. Our water company is very important to our community. First, water is essential to life. Second, it is essential to the life of our community. If we have outrageous water bills, that would hurt our community. If our water quality deteriorated, that would be a huge blow to our community. Our water company can also deter growth in Navarre. If they become non-compliant with their effluent disposal, we could receive a moratorium on growth. Our water company can also deter growth by charging tap fees that are not fair and equitable or not consistent with our neighboring communities.
The fact that our water company is unregulated by an outside agency – neither a utility commission nor the county – it is imperative that we have smart, honest and ethical people on the board that will have our community’s best interest in mind. I will not speculate on the results of the election, but I am hopeful that we will see the turnaround in our water board that we have needed for at least the past ten years – which will in turn make our water system a lot less volatile. Never before have I seen so many political moves and antics at a water company. Maybe most community papers don’t cover their water companies like we do, but I know it is more than that.
I recently visited Louisville, Kentucky and as soon as I got off the plane there was an advertisement for the water quality. It read, “When in Louisville DO drink the water.” I thought I was being punked because a recent contentious water board meeting where Channel 3 News showed up was still on my mind. Let’s face it – we are not known for our water. The Louisville water system was named “Best-tasting tap water in North America” by American Water Works Association. They even had a hash tag, #drinklikealocal, which is fun. They have to have good water to make their bourbon. How fun would it be if we could say that we were one of the best-tasting tap water areas in North America? Our neighboring water system to the West, Escambia County Utility Authority (ECUA) has won best-tasting water in our four-county area of Florida four times. Sounds like a competition to me – right in our backyard and a good place to start. I’m sure that in this part of Florida, we all get our water from the same aquifer. I wonder where we come in for that competition. I’m going to have to find out. I know our water department employees in the field are dedicated, and I hope that the board provides them the leadership they need to excel in the future. We shouldn’t have to wonder about our water or the business side of our water system. And as long as our water system is hiding documents and not doing the right thing in the open – you have to wonder what they are doing behind closed doors. And, I wonder – a lot. They should want people to know – not speculate.
Quote of the Week: Being honest may not get you a lot of friends but it’ll always get you the right ones.” John Lennon, singer-songwriter. 1940-1980