From the Hole: CC Rider Tales from the road by Michael Beadnell, Instructor/ Circuit Rider for Texas Rural Water Association Sharyland WSC
T
his year marked my fifth year working as a Water and Wastewater Instructor for the Texas Rural Water Association.
In August, I was asked by the Association leadership team if I would be willing to step in for the Circuit Rider #4 position while friend and colleague Refugio Rodriguez took some time off to fight his battle with cancer. I was honored that the leadership team thought I would be a good fit to fill in for him, and my first thought was “I guess that means I’m going back to work for a living!” As a faithful follower of the “Ask Larry” column for years, I understood fully that Circuit Riders do not wear penny loafers. Larry Bell, Technical Assistance Director, directed me to Assistant Technical Assistance Director and Circuit Rider William White for my training to get me up to speed on the job. One-on-one training with William about sent me crawling more than once. Refugio and I would also visit about mathematical equations from time to time. Wanting us to be fresh and on our toes, Refugio is the one who urged me to incorporate a math question along with my articles I write for Quench. So, in his honor, I will include one at the end of this article.
Decisions made in Austin and Washington have a dramatic impact on how we do business in the industry, as the Texas Legislature and U.S. Congress vote on legislation affecting regulatory issues, funding for rural water programs and other environmental initiatives. The TRWA Board reviews candidates’ leadership positions and voting records and then decides where the support needs to go. The PAC is supported by hundreds of individuals making contributions to give rural water a voice. Typically, TRWA also holds fundraising events at our conferences to support the cause, but this year’s travel and gathering restrictions found us hosting an online PAC auction instead. Thank you to everyone who participated in the auction! Sherilyn supported the PAC in a big way, so I headed south to Alton to deliver the items and was able to put my new Circuit Rider training to work along the way. Sharyland’s humble beginnings started in 1912 with a businessman and developer named John H. Shary. Mr. Shary became interested in the lower Rio Grande Valley’s commercial potential for citrus growing. He purchased and subdivided more than 50,000 acres of land to begin to develop citrus farms. The community locals and migrant workers helped clear brush, dug canals, and laid inroads. In 1915, he created the United Irrigation Company (UIC). Later, when the town's need for water grew, Water District 7 was formed in 1930, and later became known as United Water District, and finally by its present name, Sharyland WSC. Seven hundred property owners were committed to pay for water service once Sharyland’s construction was complete. Today, more than 40 years later, there are around 17,000 water connections on the system. Getting their water from the Rio Grande and treating
"According to the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, there are three times a system is required to perform a CSI — whenever there is new construction, renovation to prior construction, and when a system suspects there is a cross connection."
Under new obligations and a bit bewildered, I bought some snake boots and dove into my new role headfirst. Our Deputy Executive Director gave me my first overnight assignment — to travel to South Texas to visit Sherilyn Dahlberg, general manager of Sharyland WSC, who was the lucky winner of some rather sizeable items in our online Political Action Committee (PAC) silent auction. The Texas Rural Water PAC is a fund used to make campaign contributions to state and federal candidates who understand the issues affecting rural water and wastewater systems in Texas. 24
Quench — 2020 - Issue 5
