Like many other public utilities, the Ellijay-Gilmer County Water and Sewerage Authority (EGCWSA) is taking added precautions to protect the health of its employees and customers as it continues to provide services.
“We’re running a staggered schedule, but we’re still here five days a week,” said EGCWSA Director Gary McVey. “We realize to keep water and sewer service available, we’ve got to keep our people healthy. We’re maintaining social distancing as recommended by the CDC. Like everybody else, we’re asking our employees to stay home if they’re sick.”
McVey said the water authority is trying to work with customers during this difficult time.
“We’re not putting any penalties on the water bills. As of right now, we’re not doing any kind of cutoffs,” he said. “We’re watching carefully and making phone calls and we’ll see how that goes. We are going to be working with customers, especially (those) who may be having a hard time right now due to being out of work. We’re asking them to communicate with us and we’ll communicate back. We (may) have to put them on some sort of payment plan.”
The water authority’s main office, located at 1023 Progress Road, is maintaining the same business hours as before, but its lobby is closed to the public.
Payments are being accepted through the building’s drive-thru window in the form of check or money order. The office is trying to reduce the amount of cash it handles, but arrangements can be made for cash payments.
“If they only have cash, we fill out an envelope so they can put their cash in it, then put it in the night drop safe,” said water authority controller Bonnie Dalrymple. “If customers only deal with cash, they can obtain a money order. We do not accept debit/credit card payments at the office. Anyone can sign up for bank draft, too.”
Checks, money orders or cash payments can also be placed in the night deposit drop-off, Dalrymple added.
According to a notice provided by the water authority, additional security will be provided to ensure accurate posting and any excess money paid will be applied to future billing. Bills can also be paid online by e-check or debit/credit card at EGCWSA.com.
Completed contracts and bank draft sign-ups are also being accepted at the water authority’s drive-thru window, which is open till 5 p.m. Monday-Friday, Dalrymple noted. Contract documents can be found online under the Rates/Pay Bill tab.
New water taps are still being made and new meters can still be installed, but it may take longer to establish service than before, McVey noted.
“People are still moving out and moving in. They can come to the drive-thru window and make their applications that way. We may not be putting those taps in as quickly as we were before because we’re staggering our maintenance crews,” he added.
The local water treatment and wastewater treatment plants are staffed, but also with staggered crews, McVey noted. Fortunately, both facilities are outfitted with automated controls that allow certain tasks to be accomplished outside of the physical plant.
“We may be working shorthanded, but we’re still there enough to cover what needs to be done and we’re concentrating on maintaining the services we have. There always has been and always will be a licensed operator at the water plant 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. That operation won’t change,” McVey said.
“By having a SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) system, we were (already) able to not have a night shift at the wastewater plant. It helps us having electronic controls to where we can reduce the amount of staff we need to have at one time,” he added.