Pearl River County’s Utility Authority is updating the wastewater lagoon at a subdivision, increasing certification of their employees and considering the adoption of a wastewater treatment facility in Millard.
During Thursday’s meeting the board approved a motion to allow engineers to create conceptual drawings that would later be used to install a drip field at the Wildwood subdivision’s wastewater treatment lagoon, said Interim Executive Director Ray Scott.
In a separate matter, the board approved a motion to allow three of their staff to take a wastewater collection system operator’s exam in Pearl later this week. Scott said the exam will provide the employees with a higher level of certification on their operator’s license. By providing them with increased certification the Utility Authority has an additional level of coverage in case one of their employees falls ill or is unable to perform their daily duty for whatever reason.
“Our supervisors are a backup, but it’s nice to have extra people around,” Scott said.
Four other employees were approved to attend training concerning variable frequency drives, which relates to pumps used by several systems in water delivery and wastewater treatment. Scott said the training, set to take place at the Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College Vo-Tech Center in Long Beach, will provide them with the skills they need to troubleshoot and repair the various kinds of pumps.
A wastewater treatment facility is currently under construction in Millard that will service the county jail, Department of Human Services building and other structures in the area. Scott said the board is currently working on establishing legal contracts to take ownership of the facility when it is complete. Scott described the facility as being similar to the one currently in operation in Poplarville, but on a smaller scale. Termed a “package plant” Scott said the facility will not require a full time operator, but one of their operators currently on staff will be tasked with periodically checking on the facility.
In other business the board approved replacing aging computers that monitor the operation of both municipal treatment plants and two water wells owned by the Utility Authority, which are still running the Windows XP operating system.
Scott said that at the end of the meeting the board held an executive session to discuss a personnel matter. No action was taken on the matter, Scott said.