I have never hesitated to call public officials to task when I thought something was wrong. Therefore, I owe them the reciprocity and courtesy of pointing out things that are right.
If you are served by the Fayette County Water System, you should receive (or already have received) a copy of the 2015 water quality report. What is both gratifying and remarkable is that for the first time in years, our water has met every established standard. I am especially happy to see that the standards for total trihalomethanes (TTH) were met.
If your memory is long enough, you will recall that I wrote letters to The Citizen during and after the “Summer of Stinky Water” in which I called out the violation of standards for TTH as well as other problems in the water system. TTHs are a special problem for any water system; that they have been reduced to acceptable levels is a gold star for our water system.
(If you do not receive a copy of the report, please go to the Fayette County Water System webpage, click on “Consumer Confidence Report,” and download a copy. Besides the information on compliance, there are other things worth reading. The “Tip Top Tap” section is especially informative, and important.)
What took the Fayette County water system from near-failure to 100 percent compliance? The County Commissioners awoke to the problem and hired a new manager.
I had the privilege and pleasure of meeting with Mr. Lee Pope soon after he took office. I was immediately impressed by his knowledge of the problems facing our water system and his plans (ambitious, to be sure) for solving them.
It is therefore especially pleasing for me to note that all, every, every one, all of the problems identified when Mr. Pope took office have been solved or are being aggressively addressed. The 2015 report is the first one in my memory that is able to show zero, none, zero violations of established standards.
Kudos and congratulations to Mr. Pope.
Paul Lentz
Peachtree City, Ga.
