New Edmonson Water District General Manager Kevin Shaw Discusses Future For Local Water

"We're already making differences," --Kevin Shaw, Edmonson County Water District General Manager

Kevin Shaw, newly hired General Manager for Edmonson County Water, looks through paperwork at his desk.

Darren Doyle, story and photo:
Kevin Shaw, newly hired general manager for the Edmonson County Water District says he is excited about the future for the local utility company, despite the ups and downs, (a lot of downs) that have come around the District.

Focusing on his experience, new ideas, and an eager team, Shaw is looking to help Edmonson County with some of their past water woes. With over four decades of experience in utilities, dating back to 1978 at a summer job for the water company in Caneyville, through waste water management, WRECC, and plenty more, he is hoping to use it for the betterment of Edmonson County and all District customers.

Coming out of retirement from managing the Grayson County Water District for a number of years, he also wants local folks to know that he isn't an outsider. He farmed for many years in Edmonson County in the Sunfish community were he made lifelong friends, not only there, but also throughout the county and region.

"I'm one of you all," he said.

With the Lock and Dam number Five project set to resume sometime this summer, the Water District is preparing for more challenges. Most of those challenges were not brought on by the District, but Shaw's approach to working with the Corps of Engineers is different than others.

"What you'll find, is that my perspective is different than most. It probably won't be as popular with most people. We can't treat the Corps of Engineers like enemies," he said. "They've been tasked for a job for a very long time in American history, to take care of our waterways and our reservoirs."

Shaw then described an infrastructure model he once saw in Memphis of how the waterways work in this part of the nation, with all the water sources that feed into the Mississippi, starting with streams, creeks, rivers, and so on.

"It shows how it all comes together. Their task is to make sure that all those waterways are taken care of properly. It's such a big-picture thing that sometimes we forget how and why it started."

He then explained how the plowing, disc-ing, and planting of fields creates silt runoff, that here, eventually makes its way to the Green River, then on to the Mississippi, then bottlenecks somewhere in New Orleans before heading to the ocean.

"Stuff from Sunfish, KY ends up in New Orleans and the Corps has to manage it all," he said. "We're filling rivers up with silt and they have to handle it down there to get barges in and out for the entire nation. You have to put that into perspective before you can understand what their true goals were."

Shaw didn't deny that several of the problems that the Edmonson County Water District currently face were brought on by the dam project, but he said his job is mitigate and find solutions for them, period. 

"The Corps built dams and lakes that would help control silt and flooding. As luck would have it, we got two nice lakes out of it, we get to enjoy them and play on them. Consequently, we also wound up with water systems on them. They weren't built for play or for utilities, but they've allowed us to use them and you gotta keep that in perspective. The way I've always approached the Corps...they are powerful, and the old analogy, 'it takes an act of Congress,' well it truly takes an act of Congress to change the Corps, because that's where they get their direction."

"I understand that the Corps probably made a bit of an error on their original estimate on the effect of our water system. It's unfortunate. Could we have managed it differently? Maybe so, but I look at it as we're at ground zero on this right now and we just have to move forward. We have to manage it."

With the river in already critically low levels, their has been enormous concern with the District intake system. They can't treat the water if they can't get the water from the river.

When asked should the consumer be concerned with our current water supply, he replied, "I appreciate their concern."

"We're going to do everything in our power, that if that intake is struggling to meet our needs, to figure out a resolution for it and I'm confident we can. I'm equally confident we can do it without an interruption of service."

Shaw didn't say much else about the Corps but discussed how he continues to reach out (as the previous leadership did) to Congressman Brett Guthrie, Senator Mitch McConnell, and state legislators Rep. Michael Meredith and Senators Steve Meredith and David Givens. He said those conversations have been productive and he remains positive about securing resources for solutions.

"The Nature Conservancy has been kind enough to purchase, and it's onsite, a pump, and it cost somewhere around $100,000. It will pump all the water we need to the treatment facility that's on Green River," he said. "It's our goal, that if the day comes that the intake is out of water, we position that diesel pump somewhere on the banks of the Green River and pump it into the intake structure, which will still function as it is, until we come up with a final resolution."

He also noted that the Nature Conservancy didn't necessarily lobby for the removal of the dams, it was just a bonus to them, as it lines up with their mission of preservation.

When asked about the Wax plant, Shaw said he knows that customers have been frustrated, and rightly so.

"The first thing I'd say about the whole Wax area, outside of the one incident of the boil water notice (not advisory) with the high turbidity, we sample throughout our system, in several locations," he said. "We've never had a sample to come back bad. We might've had a sample that we had to do a check on or something, but I wouldn't even say that for sure. To my knowledge, we've not ever had a sample that said it was contaminated."

He said had that been the case, there would have been a boil water notice, not an advisory. He also noted the difference in a boil water notice and advisory is the first requires you to boil your water before consumption, and the second is simply that, an advisory. They advise you to boil your water, not require it.

"We constantly monitor the system, we take chlorine samples from different locations to make sure we're keeping that where we need it and the proper amount of it. The water, by drinking water standards, is safe to drink. It's safe. Are we doing the best job we can at the Wax plant? What I will tell you is that we're doing better now than we have for a long time. The thing I would ask is that the whole Water District community, is that they be patient with us and give us a chance. We are going to do different, we're going to do better. I'm not going to beat anybody up or anything up for what was past, and I can only apologize for the inconvenience that was had. We know we need something different than what's at Wax. We don't quite know yet what that is or where it will be, but it will be different. We have to replace that treatment plant. Either with another source of water or another plant. That won't come quick, but it's absolutely at the top of the list of importance to employees, to me, and to the new water board."

The Board consist of Chairman Jimmy Mills, Vice Chairman Jarrod Beatty, Secretary Blake Aubrey, Treasurer Darren Dennison, and board member Josh Brooks.

Shaw noted all the recent leadership changes that include staff, four out of five new board members, and of course, the general manager.

"You got a lot of staff that's excited about making change," he added. "We can't change it overnight. We're already making differences. With patience, good change will come."