Georgia Public Works Issue 3 - 2020

Georgia PUBLIC

THE OFFICIAL STATE PUBLICATION OF THE AMERICAN PUBLIC WORKS ASSOCIATION | ISSUE 3 – JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2021

WORKS M A G A Z I N E

Inside

• President’s Message • COVID-19 Report • Hank Aaron Tribute

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Table of Contents

ISSUE 3 – JAN/FEB 2021 APWA GEORGIA CHAPTER 4915 Chase Lane Cumming, GA 30040 www.georgia.apwa.net PRESIDENT Ms. Shirley Stevenson PRESIDENT ELECT Mr. Chris Rotalsky PAST PRESIDENT Mr. Lawrence Jeter, Jr. VICE PRESIDENT Mr. Christopher Cox

18 FEATURES 11

SECRETARY Mr. Patrick S. Collins, PE DELEGATE Mr. Lenardo Owens TREASURER Mrs. Becky L. Kinsey ALTERNATE DELEGATE Mr. Terrence Simpkins

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Protect from COVID-19

13

CDC COVID-19 FAQ

18

Continuing Water Operations During COVID-19

Hank Aaron Tribute

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Mike Joyner Public Works Education Program Certificate of Public Works Management

Tel: 866-985-9780 Fax: 866-985-9799 www.kelmanonline.com

All rights reserved 2021. The contents of this publication may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the express consent of the publisher.

COVID-19 Report

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Georgia Public Works is published by:

Managing Editor: Cole Kelman Marketing Manager: Rod Evason Design/layout: Jackie Magat Advertising Coordinator: Stefanie Hagidiakow

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Spotlight on Local Leaders: Josh Rowan

DEPARTMENTS 7 8 9 26

President’s Message Past President’s Message Branch Reports Advertiser Product and Service Center

Corrections Notice – In the June 2020 issue, there was an error printed related to the amount of funds raised during the 2020 Annual equipment show. The APWA Georgia Chapter raised $158,000 from this event and there were 125 vendors in attendance.

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President ’s Message

WELCOME TO 2021!

C H R I S R O TA L S K Y, A P W A G E O R G I A C H A P T E R P R E S I D E N T

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here is a phrase that I would be willing to bet we have all said or heard over the past year, “I just want things to be normal.” The year 2020 with the onset of the COVID-19 virus has been a challenge for our entire nation and throughout the world. Each one of us can speak to our own challenges and difficulties resulting from the pandemic, and each of us has a desire for ‘normal.’

I would like to focus, through this short message, on the fact that the great people within the Public Works field are the ones who provide a significant portion of ‘normal’ to our entire population. Throughout the pandemic, I spoke with numerous members of our great Public Works Chapter who were carrying on with the mission of ‘normal.’ We continued to provide solid waste service, we repaired roads and sidewalks, we managed stormwater, we kept vehicles and equipment operational,

we maintained buildings and facilities, even when those facilities were unoccupied.

Public Works members are the people who have responded to storms, tornadoes, and hurricanes. We have continued to provide all the tremendous services that make life ‘normal’ for our citizens.

Many of us have had to become very creative in the execution of our mission to provide these ‘normal’ services, but we have completed the mission none the less.

I have always admired the resourcefulness of the people within the Public Works community. Often times completing requested tasks without the necessary tools and support, purely by having a can-do attitude. Even within our own chapter organization, we have had to modify the way we operate to provide the services to our membership. The CPWM training has been conducted in a virtual format.

Our Executive Committee meetings

have taken place online. The elections of our officers and committee members have been voted on electronically.

We have had to adjust some of our procedures and methods, yet through it all, we have been able to maintain our critical ‘normal’ functions.

I look forward to being your Chapter President for 2021 and being a small part of each of your departments and groups. I cannot guarantee that 2021 will be ‘normal’ in the way that we all desire it to be. I can, however, feel confident in guaranteeing the great people within Public Works and the membership of the Georgia Chapter of the American Public Works Association will provide ‘normal’ to each and every person we serve with a unique degree of ‘normal’ of which only our group is capable.

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Past President ’s Message

IT HAS BEEN AN HONOR

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S H I R L E Y S T E V E N S O N , 2 0 2 0 P R E S I D E N T, A P W A G E O R G I A C H A P T E R

reetings APWA Georgia Family, As we push forward with the start of a new year, I want to take this opportunity and thank each of you for the opportunity of serving

as your APWA Georgia Chapter State President 2020 was unlike any year we ever faced. What began as a year full of great optimism, quickly dissolved into a global pandemic which forced both the

Working together, the APWA Georgia Chapter is committed to meeting the needs of its local branches.

Through the use of digital technology and online resources, the Executive Committee will provide local branches and members with the support they need.

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government and business communities alike to completely reconfigure their daily operational practices. From Wall Street to Main Street and from every corner of this country, the COVID-19 pandemic has in part framed our everyday livelihood in ways we never imagined.

Playing a great role in how this all unfolds, are the dedicated women and men within public works. Just as crucial as the frontline medical personnel, APWA professionals have sacrificed their personal well-being to ensure the transportation and solid waste needs within their local communities are met. During some of our nation’s most troubling times, APWA members have not faltered. It is with this same expectation that will continue to work relentlessly throughout the remainder of this pandemic.

While I will no longer serve as your president, I look forward to working with your new president Chris Rotalsky, the Director of Public Works, with the City of Gainesville. Chris and the Executive Committee recognizes the challenges each branch face. Working together, the APWA Georgia Chapter is committed to meeting the needs of its local branches. Through the use of digital technology and online resources, the Executive Committee will provide local branches and members with the support they need.

I also understand the need to return to normalcy during these difficult times.

Working together, we can continue our mission to develop and support the people, agencies, and organizations that plan, build, maintain, and improve our communities. It was an honor serving as your president and I look forward to supporting our state chapter over the upcoming year.

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Branch Reports

COASTAL GEORGIA BRANCH B E N N I E P A G E , C O A S TA L G E O R G I A B R A N C H P R E S I D E N T

We are planning our meetings to include all the Cities and Counties in our Branch so we can become stronger together.

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he Coastal GA Chapter is pressing through these challenging times with success.

Although we are not having our regular in-person gatherings, we will continue to have semi-monthly virtual meetings. We are planning our meetings to include all the Cities and Counties in our Branch so we can become stronger together. As this

pandemic recedes, we will start having gatherings at locations that will vary throughout the Coastal Branch and include vendor participation. We would love for you to join us this year as we move forward. If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact me at bkpage@chathamcounty.org.

METRO ATLANTA BRANCH S H A U N C E Y B AT T L E - W I L L I A M S , M E T R O AT L A N TA B R A N C H P R E S I D E N T

The branch will begin hosting virtual ‘lunch and learns’ in February 2021 and we welcome all new members excited to learn more about APWA.

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he 11 counties that compromise the Metro Atlanta branch kicked off 2020 with a brand-new board and an exciting presentation from Asphalt Technologies. While we were eager to continue the mission of the organization, yet our efforts came to a halt due the global pandemic.

For everyone’s safety, we abandoned our in-person calendar of events and were unfortunately unable to do much in the way of meeting during the remainder of 2020.

The elected board for 2020 held a virtual meeting in December and obtained the approval of the general body of members to move forward as

the same executive board for 2021.

The branch will begin hosting virtual ‘lunch and learns’ in February 2021 and we welcome all new members excited to learn more about APWA. President – Shauncey Battle-Williams Vice President – Adisa Aarons Secretary – Bradley Klinger Membership Coordinator – Godfrey Stephens Member at Large – Tanya James

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Branch Reports

NORTHEAST GEORGIA BRANCH TO D D B EEB E , NO RTH E A S T G EO RG IA B R AN CH PR ESI D EN T

All of us are looking forward to the new year and to hopefully the start of getting back to a new normal.

A

s this year has presented many challenges for all, the Northeast Branch continues to work through them as well. We had a summer Zoom meeting to check in and update our members on how COVID-19 was affecting us all. Those who were able to attend gave updates on how they were faring and I passed on the plans of our Georgia Chapter, as I knew

them, for the rest of the year. We found in our discussion that each of us was still trying to find our new normal. All of us are looking forward to the new year and to hopefully the start of getting back to a new normal. One that will allow us to meet, attend training and socialize in person. Out with the old and in with the new, here is to 2021!

NORTHWEST GEORGIA BRANCH J EREMY B RYSO N , NO RTHWES T G EO RG IA B R AN CH PR ESI D EN T

We hope that everyone remains safe during this most challenging time.

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he Northwest Branch has not held any formal meetings due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We hope to meet sometime in 2021 when it is safe to do so. Communication

has remained intact with emails regarding CPWM training and other Chapter related business. We hope that everyone remains safe during this most challenging time.

Our concern for the environment is more than just talk This publication is printed on Forest Stewardship CouncilÂŽ (FSCÂŽ) certified paper with vegetable oil-based inks. Please do your part for the environment by reusing and recycling.

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COVID-19

Report

Back to Contents

Protect from COVID-19

12

CDC COVID-19 FAQ

13

Continuing Water Operations During COVID-19

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Protect

From COVID-19.

I GOT

VACCINE!

You risk being exposed to people with COVID-19 every day.

A safe and effective vaccine to protect against COVID-19 is now available.

Learn more: cdc.gov/coronavirus/vaccines

AnsweringYour YourQuestions QuestionsAbout About Answering theNew NewCOVID-19 COVID-19Vaccines Vaccines the How will experts evaluate the COVID-19 How will experts evaluate the COVID-19 vaccines inin real-world conditions? vaccines real-world conditions?

Yes. Clinical trials provide data and information about how Yes. Clinical trials provide data and information about how well a vaccine prevents anan infectious disease and about how well a vaccine prevents infectious disease and about how safe it it is.is.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) evaluates safe The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) evaluates these data, along with information from thethe manufacturer, these data, along with information from manufacturer, toto assess the safety and effectiveness of of a vaccine.

FDA then assess the safety and effectiveness a vaccine.

FDA then decides whether to approve a vaccine or authorize it for decides whether to approve a vaccine or authorize it for emergency use in in the United States. emergency use the United States.

Experts areare working onon many types of real-world studies to to Experts working many types of real-world studies determine vaccine effectiveness, andand each uses a different determine vaccine effectiveness, each uses a different method: method: Case-control studies willwill include cases (people who have Case-control studies include cases (people who have thethe virus that causes COVID-19) andand controls (people who virus that causes COVID-19) controls (people who dodo notnot have thethe virus that causes COVID-19).

People who have virus that causes COVID-19).

People who agree to to participate in aincase-control study willwill provide agree participate a case-control study provide information onon whether they received a COVID-19 vaccine information whether they received a COVID-19 vaccine or or not.

Experts willwill look to see if the cases were lessless likely not.

Experts look to see if the cases were likely to to have received thethe vaccine than controls, which would have received vaccine than controls, which would show that thethe vaccine is working. show that vaccine is working.

A test-negative design study willwill enroll people who areare A test-negative design study enroll people who seeking medical care forfor symptoms that could be be duedue seeking medical care symptoms that could to to COVID-19.

In this special type of case-control study, COVID-19.

In this special type of case-control study, experts willwill compare thethe COVID-19 vaccination status of of experts compare COVID-19 vaccination status those who testtest positive (meaning they have COVID-19) those who positive (meaning they have COVID-19) to to those who testtest negative (meaning they do do notnot have those who negative (meaning they have COVID-19).

COVID-19).

After a vaccine is is either approved oror authorized forfor After a vaccine either approved authorized emergency use byby FDA, more assessments areare done before emergency use FDA, more assessments done before a vaccine is is recommended forfor public use.

The goal of of these a vaccine recommended public use.

The goal these assessments is is toto understand more about thethe protection assessments understand more about protection a vaccine provides under real-world conditions, outside of of a vaccine provides under real-world conditions, outside clinical trials. clinical trials.

After COVID-19 vaccines areare approved or or authorized forfor After COVID-19 vaccines approved authorized emergency use byby FDA and recommended forfor public use, emergency use FDA and recommended public use, CDC will further assess their effectiveness.

These realCDC will further assess their effectiveness.

These realworld assessments will compare groups of of people who dodo world assessments will compare groups people who and don’t get vaccinated and people who do and don’t and don’t get vaccinated and people who do and don’t get COVID-19 toto find out how well COVID-19 vaccines areare get COVID-19 find out how well COVID-19 vaccines working toto protect people. working protect people.

COVID-19 Report

Do Doclinical clinicaltrial trialresults resultsshow showwhether whether vaccines vaccinesare areeffective? effective?

Why bebe Whywould wouldthe theeffectiveness effectivenessofofvaccines vaccines different differentafter afterthe theclinical clinicaltrials? trials?

Many factors can affect a vaccine’s effectiveness in in real-world Many factors can affect a vaccine’s effectiveness real-world situations.

These factors can include things such as how a a situations. These factors can include things such as how vaccine is transported and stored or even how patients are vaccine is transported and stored or even how patients are vaccinated.

Vaccine effectiveness can also bebe affected byby vaccinated.

Vaccine effectiveness can also affected differences inin the underlying medical conditions of of people differences the underlying medical conditions people vaccinated asas compared toto those vaccinated in in thethe clinical vaccinated compared those vaccinated clinical trials. trials.

Assessments ofof vaccine effectiveness can also provide Assessments vaccine effectiveness can also provide important information about how well a vaccine is working important information about how well a vaccine is working inin groups of people who were not included or were notnot well groups of people who were not included or were well represented inin clinical trials. represented clinical trials.

U.S. Department of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Health Human Services Centers forand Disease Centers forPrevention Disease Control and Control and Prevention

www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/vaccines www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/vaccines

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CDC | NCIRD | Answering Your Questions About the New COVID-19 Vaccines

COVID-19 Report

Cohort studies will follow people who have and haven’t

had a COVID-19 vaccine for several months to see if getting vaccinated protects them from getting the disease.

This can be done in real time (prospectively) or by looking back in time (retrospectively) using data that were already collected, such as information in participants’ medical records.

Screening method assessments look at vaccination status among a group of cases (for example, cases detected through ongoing COVID-19 surveillance) and compares those cases with vaccination coverage among the overall population where those cases come from (for example people from the same state). By comparing coverage between these two groups, researchers can get an early estimate of whether a vaccine is working as expected.

Ecologic analysis assessments look at groups of people – such as those in different geographic locations or at different times – to find out how many were vaccinated and how many were diagnosed with COVID-19. These analyses may be hard to interpret because the number of COVID-19 illnesses has changed rapidly over time and in different places.

infection. People with asymptomatic infection can unknowingly spread the virus to others.

A special type of cohort study will find out how effective the vaccine is when people are asymptomatic. People who agree to participate will be tested for COVID-19 every week whether they have symptoms or not. Experts will then compare the proportion of people with infection who were vaccinated to the proportion of people with infection who were not vaccinated.

CDC will use several methods because they can all contribute different information about how the vaccine is working.

Will assessments determine if the vaccines protect people from severe COVID-19 illness?

Yes. Severe illness from COVID-19 is defined as needing care in a hospital or intensive care unit (ICU), needing to be on a ventilator, or dying due to COVID-19.

Experts will assess how well COVID-19 vaccines protect people against severe illness using case-control studies among hospitalized patients.

Experts also will use cohort studies of electronic health records to see if people hospitalized with COVID-19 received the vaccine or not.

Will assessments determine if the vaccines protect people against mild illness?

Yes. CDC will use case-control studies to assess how well COVID-19 vaccines protect people against less severe forms of COVID-19 – for example, people with COVID-19 who need to visit a doctor but don’t need to be hospitalized.

Will assessments determine if the vaccines protect people who are ill with no symptoms at all?

Yes. Some people can be infected with or “carry” the virus that causes COVID-19, but they don’t feel sick or have any symptoms. Experts call this asymptomatic infection. It is important to know whether COVID-19 vaccines can help lower the number of people who have asymptomatic 14

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Who will be included in the real-world vaccine assessments?

CDC is working to make sure real-world vaccine assessments include diverse groups of people including the following: Healthcare personnel and essential workers Experts will rapidly assess vaccine effectiveness among healthcare personnel working in hospitals, long term care/ skilled nursing facilities, or nursing homes in selected sites across the United States. These assessments will show how well COVID-19 vaccines protect healthcare personnel from getting sick or having severe illness. Assessments among healthcare personnel and essential workers will also inform how well COVID-19 vaccines protect them against getting infected, regardless of whether they have symptoms or not.

Older adults and those living in nursing homes The risk for severe illness from COVID-19 increases with age, so making sure these vaccines protect older adults is critical. People living in nursing homes and long-term care facilities are at especially high risk of getting COVID-19 and severe disease. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will

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CDC | NCIRD | Answering Your Questions About the New COVID-19 Vaccines and effectiveness of the vaccines. These clinical trials were conducted according to rigorous standards set forth by FDA. FDA has determined that the newly authorized COVID-19 vaccines meet its safety and effectiveness standards.

Therefore, FDA has made these vaccines available for use in the United States under what is known as an Emergency Use Authorization.

Experts will also use data from CDC and CMS to conduct a case-control assessment. Experts will identify older adults hospitalized for COVID-19 and older adults hospitalized for other reasons. They will then compare how many cases and controls received a COVID-19 vaccine to estimate vaccine effectiveness.

COVID-19 Report

use CMS Medicare billing data to assess COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness among older adults, including those living in nursing homes and long-term care facilities. These data will include information about whether people received a COVID-19 vaccine, whether they got sick with COVID-19, and if they needed hospital care. This information will help inform how well the vaccine works in preventing COVID-19 and severe illness among older adults.

People with underlying medical conditions To better understand how well COVID-19 vaccines protect people with underlying medical conditions who may be at increased risk for severe illness. Experts are working to make sure various real-world vaccine assessments will include adults with heart conditions, obesity, and diabetes. The real-world vaccine effectiveness assessments will also collect information about other underlying medical conditions.

This information will be used to better understand how well COVID-19 vaccines protect people with underlying medical conditions.

People in racial and ethnic minority groups Long-standing systemic health and social inequities have put many people from racial and ethnic minority groups at increased risk of getting sick and dying from COVID-19. CDC is working to ensure that real-world assessments of vaccine effectiveness include diverse populations, such as people from racial and ethnic minority groups disproportionately affected by COVID-19.

CDC also is working with the Indian Health Service (IHS), tribal nations, and other partners to ensure that these realworld assessments include American Indian and Alaska Native populations who have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19. This is important to ensure that COVID-19 vaccines can help achieve health equity, so everyone has a fair opportunity to be as healthy as possible.

These vaccines were produced so quickly.

How do we know they are safe?

It is the U.S. vaccine safety system’s job to make sure that all vaccines are as safe as possible. Safety has been a top priority while federal partners have worked to make COVID-19 vaccines available for use in the United States.

The new COVID-19 vaccines have been evaluated in tens of thousands of individuals, who volunteered to be vaccinated and to participate in clinical trials. The information from these clinical trials allowed the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to determine the safety

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Will CDC continue to watch for problems with these new vaccines?

Yes. Even though no safety issues arose during the clinical trials, CDC and other federal partners will continue to monitor the new vaccines for serious side effects (known as adverse events) using many vaccine safety monitoring systems.

This continued monitoring can pick up on side effects that may not have been seen in clinical trials. If an unexpected side effect with the new COVID-19 vaccines is seen, experts can quickly study it further to determine if it is a true safety concern. Monitoring vaccine safety is critical to help ensure that the benefits of the COVID-19 vaccines continue to outweigh the risks for people who are vaccinated.

The current vaccine safety system is strong and robust, with the capacity to monitor COVID-19 vaccine safety effectively.

Existing data systems can rapidly detect if a vaccine has any possible safety problems. These systems are being scaled up to fully meet the needs of the nation. Additional systems and data sources are also being developed to further enhance safety monitoring capabilities.

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CDC | NCIRD | Answering Your Questions About the New COVID-19 Vaccines

COVID-19 Report

New vaccine safety monitoring systems and information sources The following systems and information sources add another layer of safety monitoring, giving CDC and FDA the ability to evaluate COVID-19 vaccine safety in real time and make sure COVID-19 vaccines are as safe as possible: CDC: V-SAFE — A new smartphone-based, after-

vaccination health checker for people who receive COVID-19 vaccines. V-SAFE will use text messaging and web surveys from CDC to check in with vaccine recipients for health problems following COVID-19 vaccination. The system also will provide telephone follow up to anyone who reports medically significant (important) adverse events.

CDC: National Healthcare Safety

Network (NHSN) — An acute care and long-term care facility monitoring system with reporting to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System or VAERS FDA: Other large insurer/payer databases — A system of administrative and claims-based data for surveillance and research

Existing Safety Monitoring Systems The safety of vaccines is monitored all the time with multiple approaches. As people get vaccinated, CDC, FDA, and other federal partners will use the following existing, robust systems and data sources to conduct ongoing safety monitoring in the following groups: General public CDC and FDA: Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) — The national system that collects reports from healthcare professionals, vaccine manufacturers, and the public of adverse events that happen after vaccination; reports of adverse events that are unexpected, appear to happen more often than expected, or have unusual patterns are followed up with specific studies CDC: Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD) — A network of 9 integrated healthcare organizations across the United States that conducts active surveillance and research; the system is also used to help determine whether possible side effects identified using VAERS are actually related to vaccination CDC: Clinical Immunization Safety Assessment (CISA) Project — A collaboration between CDC and 7 medical research centers to provide expert consultation on individual cases and conduct clinical research studies about vaccine safety FDA and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services: Medicare data — A claims-based system for active surveillance and research FDA: Biologics Effectiveness and Safety System (BEST) — A system of electronic health record, administrative, and claims-based data for active surveillance and research FDA: Sentinel Initiative — A system of electronic health record, administrative, and claims-based data for active surveillance and research

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Members of the military Department of Defense (DOD): DOD VAERS data — Adverse event reporting to VAERS for the DOD populations DOD: Vaccine Adverse Event Clinical System (VAECS) — A system for case tracking and evaluation of adverse events following immunization in DOD and DOD-affiliated populations DOD: DOD Electronic Health Record and Defense Medical Surveillance System — A system of electronic health record and administrative data for active surveillance and research Veterans Department of Veterans Affairs (VA): VA Adverse Drug Event Reporting System (VA ADERS) — A national reporting system for adverse events following receipt of drugs and immunizations VA Electronic Health Record and Active Surveillance System — A system of electronic health record and administrative data for active surveillance and research Tribal nations Indian Health Service (IHS): IHS VAERS data — Spontaneous adverse event reporting to VAERS for populations served by IHS and Tribal facilities

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COVID-19 Report

CONTINUING WATER OPERATIONS DURING THE 2020 COVID-19 PANDEMIC

By Linda MacGregor, P.E., Water Resources Director, City of Gainesville (lmacgregor@gainesvillega.gov)

The water professionals at the City of Gainesville, like other utilities in Georgia and beyond, are proving the essential nature of their work during this time of COVID-19. As the pandemic impacted people all over the globe, as businesses shut down and reopened, as interactions between people were redefined, water, wastewater, and stormwater services continued – almost as if nothing new was going on. Kudos to the water professionals who made this look easy, despite various difficulties.

This article will discuss how we overcame the following challenges at the Department of Water Resources in Gainesville, Georgia: • the essential nature of the work of water professionals, • modified operations to address COVID-19 concerns, • business impacts, • technology and its contribution to solutions, and • staff appreciation.

Sometime in late March 2020, I heard someone say, “2020 will be a year we remember. Each of us has an opportunity to create the memories that we want to remember.” I wish I could remember where I heard this and give proper credit to that person because I believe that comment had merit then. There are continuing

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opportunities to make 2020 a good year to remember – even with the COVID-19 challenges. I pause to remember our friend Tom Wiedmeier, Augusta Utilities Director, who was taken from us due to COVID-19.

As this pandemic situation continues, it is worthwhile to remind ourselves to exercise as much control as we possibly can to make each day count. The experiences that I discuss here are my own observations.

The good ideas came from a number of sources, including the Gainesville DWR team, our colleagues at the Gainesville Department of Public Works, and our fellow water professionals throughout the Georgia Association of Water Professionals.

In particular, the GAWP sponsored calls with utility managers were very helpful.

Exhibit 1 shows a timeline of COVID-19 activities so far in 2020.

The Essential Nature of the Work of Water Professionals Those of us in the water profession have a sense that our work is essential and critical; however, this is not frequently discussed or carefully defined. Thankfully, GAWP found and shared guidance published by the Department of Homeland Security that provided useful clarification. This guidance was updated several times during 2020. The latest guidance can be found at this link: www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/ publications/Version_4.0_CISA_Guidance_ on_Essential_Critical_Infrastructure_ Workers_FINAL%20AUG%2018v3.pdf.

Exhibit 1 – Timeline Months in 2020 January February

Modified Operations Vague awareness of a new virus affecting other places.

March April

Modified operations, Phase 1.

May June July

Modified operations, Phase 2.

August September Beyond September 2020

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Continued modified operations.

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Modified Operations to Address COVID-19 Concerns We articulated two goals: • Protect DWR employees.

• Continue providing essential services/ critical infrastructure.

These are overlapping goals that were deliberately listed in this order to recognize that we can’t do the second goal without doing the first. We also recognized that these are compatible goals – by doing one we were also doing the other. We implemented modified operations in mid-March 2020. This is referred to as ‘Phase 1’ on Exhibit 1.

In mid June, we made revisions to the modified operations. These revisions primarily involved all staff returning to full-time work, no longer having anyone on reserve. Where applicable, remote working continued in Phase 2. After Labor Day, normal City policies went back into effect, further reducing (but not eliminating) remote working. We continue to adjust as CDC guidance changes and we learn how additional flexibility will help us to meet these goals.

The following are descriptions of the modified operations that we implemented.

These are summarized in Exhibit 2.

• Purchase and use more personal protective equipment (PPE). As with everywhere else, PPE was suddenly in short supply. Gainesville quickly accepted the role as one of the Georgia WARN Points of Distribution and helped distribute face covering provided by FEMA to other water systems in the northeast Georgia area.

In addition, our Purchasing Division scoured all sources for sanitary wipes, cleaning sprays, latex gloves, and other necessities.

COVID-19 Report

Water and wastewater workers were specifically identified as ‘essential critical infrastructure workers.’ The definitions were sufficiently broad to include operations, repairing, maintaining, supplying, and testing. The public works descriptions included rehabilitation, construction, construction inspection, fleet maintenance, and locating services for buried utilities. There are also separate sections on communications, information services, and financial services.

We have inclement weather/hazardous conditions policies that have served us well during hurricanes and ice storms. These policies call for the temporary suspension of many functions for the one- to threeday events that we regularly see. It was immediately apparent that the COVID-19 scenarios were different. In order to sustain the obvious operations and maintenance functions for an extended period of time, we would also need to continue with purchasing materials and services, paying our bills, and receiving payments; therefore, we classified every employee in the Department of Water Resources as essential. We prioritized tasks, but every operating unit was fully functioning for the entirety of 2020.

Gainesville served as a ‘point of distribution’ for much-needed PPE •

•

Lobby closed. Use drive-through. Signs were posted on front and back doors, in the parking lot, and online notifying our customers that we were open for business, but only through the drivethrough windows. All of our normal lobby functions, such as payments, requests for service, and water tap applications, could be accommodated through the drive-through.

Treatment Plant Operators working seven days on, seven days off (instead of four days on, three days off ). In an effort to maintain health and minimize cross-contamination, we challenged our treatment plant operators to work their 12-hour shifts on a seven days on and seven days off rotation.

Exhibit 2 – Reflections on Modified Operations Modified Operations

Reflections/Lessons learned

Purchase and use more personal protective equipment (PPE).

This has been a constant effort and is likely to continue for some time.

Lobby closed. Use drive-through.

Following the lead of Chick-Fil-A. This may be a long-standing change.

Treatment Plant Operators working seven days on, seven days off (instead of four days on, three days off ).

Not sustainable. Too exhausting, especially if any extra time is required.

Team A and Team B – alternate between one work week and one reserve week.

Worked for a limited time in an effort to reduce the likelihood of everyone being sick at the same time.

Work from home with technology.

Some will continue to do this long-term. For some, adjustment was required. Some loved it and others hated it.

Report directly to work sites with technology.

Some of this will become permanent, especially the increased use of technology and the reduced paper.

Virtual meetings.

This is a permanent part of our ongoing work environment.

More reflection is warranted to 1) make virtual meetings very good, and 2) determine when in person meetings are recommended.

Office arrangements, especially conference rooms.

It will be a long time before we sit shoulder to shoulder in crowded conference rooms.

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COVID-19 Report

•

This challenge was accepted by the operations staff and all performed flawlessly. We found this to be taxing, especially when any additional efforts were needed. We are unlikely to repeat this practice.

Team A and Team B – alternate between one work week and one reserve week. Certain work functions, such as those in distribution and collection, could not be performed remotely. At the same time, we also realized we could not afford to risk exposure to the entire group

because they continued to work in close proximity to each other. This mandated we separated crews into A and B, with one group working and the other on reserve. It was explicitly explained that this was not time to go to the mountains, to the beach, etc.

The team on reserve could be called into work at a moment’s notice.

This need arose only twice, and the crews responded appropriately. In Phase 2, we had both teams come back in, but one team came to the shop as usual while the other team •

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met at one of the water reclamation facilities. This kept the crews separate and (hopefully) healthy, while we were able to regain some sort of regular schedule. Then, in mid-August, another change was implemented: Team A started coming into the shop at 7 a.m. and worked until 3:30 p.m.

Team B started coming to the shop at 9 a.m. and would work until 5:30 p.m.

In between start up and shut down times, the shop was wiped down, so as to minimize any potential transmission of the virus.

Work from home with technology.

A subset of our teams could perform some or all of their duties from home.

This included our administrative teams, engineers, environmental scientists, and others. The City IT department worked very hard and fast to locate additional laptops, outfitted them with the virtual private network, and deployed them to many staff members. We discovered that some people liked this arrangement more than they expected and others not so much. More reflection is needed to articulate how to make remote working successful and when in-office presence has strong advantages.

Report directly to work sites with technology. Construction activities in our area barely even slowed down, even during the worst of the shutdown.

This meant utility extension/installation projects were ongoing, and since we live by the motto “You don’t get what you expect, you get what you inspect,” our inspectors never slowed down, either. This four-man team would come into the parking lot, pick up their City vehicles, and travel directly to the job sites around Hall County, ensuring quality work. The engineering staff did likewise, making every effort to minimize even coming into the administration building.

Virtual meetings. DWR was part of the global shift to virtual meetings using at least a dozen different platforms depending upon the norm of our extended team of consultants, suppliers, and contractors. We had one-on-one meetings and meetings with more than 50 people in these formats. At times we were spread throughout north Georgia at our homes. Later, we were in our offices but not gathering in the same room.

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COVID-19 Report

Shift change coordination with proper distancing in the parking lot, rather than inside the building at our Linwood Water Reclamation Facility.

•

Office arrangements, especially conference rooms. We ‘redecorated’ our conference rooms so that the maximum capacity was governed by the CDC distancing guidelines rather than fire marshal capacities.

We removed some tables and chairs and rearranged so that meeting participants could be at least six feet apart.

Business Impacts For Gainesville, water use remained consistent with recent years. Small differences were more likely resulting from varying temperature and rainfall amounts, rather than from COVID-19.

We think that water use shifted from some businesses to residential, as more people were at home. Our largest industrial customers continued operations and maintained near-normal water use.

Our number of delinquent accounts quadrupled. Normally, we have 0.4% delinquent accounts. AWWA reports that the pre-COVID-19 annual uncollectable percentage was 0.6%. Starting in April 2020, our delinquent account grew to a high of 1.9% in July. In October, we will resume cut-off s for non-payment unless the customer has worked out a payment plan with our customer service representatives.

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Gainesville DWR employee James Farmer (right) talking to the contractor for the Linwood Outfall replacement project with proper social distancing.

Technology and its Contribution to Solutions Technology has greatly assisted in the remote and ‘distanced’ work that we have been able to do during this period.

Those working from home needed laptops with the virtual private network.

To avoid having crews gather inside to get work assignments, the information was conveyed directly to their tablets or laptops. This approach was used by meter services, inspectors reporting directly to project sites, and maintenance crews.

One specific example is our customer advocates. Their normal duties are to make site visits to customers with high water usage to check for leaking toilets and faucets. They normally go inside homes to provide hands-on assistance. During this time of social distancing, inside home inspections were curtailed. Driveway conversations at a distance and with masks allowed the customer advocates to provided brochures and instructions to assist the customers with ‘self-diagnosis’ of their water consumption.

Staff Appreciation Almost immediately, as COVID-19 became an everyday phrase, first responders were rightfully recognized. The group was expanded to include hospital workers and even grocery store workers. All of these groups deserved the appreciation. At the

same time, the main direction to minimize the chance of getting COVID-19 was ‘wash your hands.’ Details were shared about the duration and methods for effective hand washing. Even with this, water professionals were rarely mentioned as part of the essential work force.

No groups were bringing food to the water and wastewater treatment plants to show appreciation, as was occurring at fire stations and hospitals. So, at Gainesville Water Resources, we started weekly safety and appreciation lunches for all work groups. We honored and supported our local restaurants with food orders for all groups and all shifts.

Summary As this article is being written in late September 2020, this is very much an ongoing event. COVID-19 case numbers are variable, rising and falling for reasons beyond the scope of this article.

The Gainesville Department of Water Resources, like most utilities throughout Georgia and beyond, is learning to live with uncertainty, imperfect data, and changing guidance. We anticipate that this will be the case for an unknown period, already longer than any of us wanted.

We will continue to learn while we provide water, wastewater, and stormwater services on a 24/7/365 basis as we always do – regardless of the circumstances.

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Hank “Hammerin” Aaron 5 FEBRUARY, 1934 – 22 JANUARY, 2021 Hank Aaron, an Atlanta Braves legend and baseball’s homerun king, died Friday January 22, 2021 at the age of 86.

During his illustrious career, Aaron led the Braves to two National League Championships and one World Series. He remains baseball’s all-time leader in RBI (2,297) and total bases (6,856). Aaron was also a 25-time All-Star, the most of any player in history.

Aaron entered the baseball Hall of Fame in 1982, the first year he was eligible.

Aaron is survived by his wife, Billye; two sons, Lary and Henry Jr., and two daughters, Dorinda and Gaile, all of whom he had with his first wife, Barbara; and his daughter Ceci, from Billye Aaron’s first marriage.

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CONFERENCE AND TRAINING UPDATES We are excited to be hosting the MIKE JOYNER PUBLIC WORKS EDUCATION PROGRAM

“Certificate of Public Works Management” CLASSES ON FEBRUARY 17-18 AND 23-24, 2021 While it is disappointing that we are unable to meet in person, we are excited to be able to offer the Certificate of Public Works Management program online. We will do everything we can to create an effective learning environment for you.

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Advertiser Product & Service Center GEORGIA PUBLIC WORKS is made possible by the companies below who convey their important messages on our pages. We thank them for their support of the APWA Georgia Chapter and its publication and encourage you to contact them when making your purchasing decisions. To make it easier to contact these companies, we have included the page number of their advertisement, their phone number, and, where applicable, their website.

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Flint Equipment Company

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Unique Paving Materials

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Versalift Southeast

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Contact Rod Evason to put Georgia Public Works to work for you.

To reach Georgia’s Public Works professionals through Georgia Public Works and its targeted readership, contact Rod at your earliest convenience to discuss your company’s promotional plans for 2021.

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Website

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Rod Evason Marketing Manager P 877-985-9710 rod@kelman.ca

Published for APWA – Georgia Chapter by

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