WHO’S WHO
IN TOWN & COUNTY GOVERNMENT CORY SAULSBURY MOVES UP THE RANKS TO PITTSBORO’S WATER PLANT SUPERINTENDENT B Y I S A B E L L A R E I L LY
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOHN MICHAEL SIMPSON
C
ory Saulsbury grew up in Pittsboro and attended Northwood High School. Cory
holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and economics from Greensboro College. He lives in Chatham County with his wife, Megan Saulsbury, and their dogs – Coach, Angel and Blue.
What work did you do before joining the water department? I went to Guilford Technical Community College for two years, and I played baseball there. I transferred to Greensboro College for three more years and played baseball there, too. After graduation in 2012, I started out in insurance and worked with the Bouldin Williams Agency [in Pittsboro] for about nine months. Then, I worked for State Farm in Durham until June 2014, but [insurance] just wasn’t for me. That same month, I got a job with the Town of Pittsboro mowing grass. I worked in [the public works] department until August 2015, when there was a job opening at the water plant, so I got on with them. I was an operator, and being
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CHATHAM MAGAZINE
APRIL / MAY 2022
an operator at the water plant means you are providing safe drinking water to the town that meets state requirements. In two or three more years, around late 2016 to early 2017, I became senior operator. Then, about eight months ago, I became superintendent. What is a typical workday like for you? My job is to make sure my operators have everything they need [by] getting in contact with my operations manager, seeing what we need to get done, checking on my numbers, making sure our labs are getting done, and making sure all the numbers and labs are within our state standards. We take precautions before our finished water ever goes out of [range], and [we] monitor our levels. We’re also taking phone calls from customers. It’s busy every day. What kinds of civic needs concern you most? One thing I tell everyone when I get calls from customers, is that I’m a customer myself. I live within the town limits; my family lives within the town limits. So, if they call me saying [their] water has a sulfur smell or something going on that doesn’t seem right, I’ll hop on it real quick. Because, like I said, I drink the water, too, and the emerging contaminants are a big deal. The main emerging contaminants are 1,4-Dioxane and [a group of chemicals known as] PFAS. They are not state-regulated contaminants but are still a concern because of potential health risks. We do not have a 1,4-Dioxane or PFAS problem right now – our numbers are undetectable. However, we’re putting in a granulated active carbon system, which functions the same as a regular house