Mitchell RWD 3 Manager Mike Weidenhaft recognized by Kansas Rural Water Association

Manager of Mitchell County Rural Water District No. 3, has been recognized by the Kansas Rural Water Association as Rural Water Manager of the Year. The award was presented this past week during the Association's 48th Annual Conference & Exhibition held at the Century II Convention Center in Wichita. The conference, which was attended by nearly 2,400 people from more than 300 cities and 190 rural water districts, was held at the Century II Convention Center in Wichita.

Weidenhaft began work with the Mitchell RWD 3 about six years ago as a part-time operator but after only a couple of months, was moved into a full-time position. From the beginning of his employment, he noticed discrepancies in water purchased versus water sold and began investigating the payment history of each customer. A number of nonpaying and underpaying customers were identified and a process was implemented to return them to be current on charges.
By creating a database with all users and checking it routinely, delinquent accounts were identified. Those accounts now receive past-due notices and a shut-off notice with very substantial reconnection fees for accounts that are 60 days past due. These efforts along with the process of collecting for underpaid water dating back several years have resulted in unaccounted for water being reduced to less than 10 percent. "Mike is a great asset to the district and he has worked diligently in partnership with the board of directors to rectify office and field procedural inefficiencies, In just a few years, Mitchell RWD 3 has gone from a small, struggling water district to one that is becoming technologically advanced," stated Elmer Ronnebaum, General Manager of the Association in making the presentation.
Weidenhaft currently holds a Class I water operator certification.
Mitchell RWD 3's system consists of more than 600 miles of pipeline, nine water storage tanks and ten pumping stations. The district also provides water to five small cities as well. Other improvements that have been completed by the District include GPS mapping of all meters, valves, water mains and service lines. Weidenhaft was also instrumental for the District to begin installation of satellite-read meters. The district plans to have its staff continue to make the installations until all 620 meters are replaced. The new equipment is being paid for with internal funds.
Others recognized during the conference include the following: Municipal City Administrator Ian Martell, city of Eureka; Municipal Water Operator Fred Washburn, city of Hoxie; Municipal Wastewater Operator Jon Voss, city of Stockton; City Clerk Kim Everley, city of McLouth; Rural Water Operator Adrianne Feeney, Dickinson RWD 1; The Association named the City of Green as the most improved water system in Kansas in 2014. Its Friend of Rural Water Award was presented to Margaret Fast of the Kansas Water Office. The city of Emporia placed first in the "Best Tasting Water in Kansas" contest.

The conference training program included 57 seminars on all aspects of water and wastewater utility operations and management and 331 exhibits of products and services for municipal water and wastewater utilities. Special guest speakers included Dr. Peter Grevatt, Director of the Office of Drinking Water and Ground Water at US EPA, Washington, and Tracy Streeter, Director of the Kansas Water Office, Topeka.

The Kansas Rural Water Association provides training and technical assistance to cities and rural water districts and also supports a variety of other community programs from GPS mapping to the popular KAN STEP self-help program through the Department of Commerce. See www.krwa.net to learn more about the Association.

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Beloit, KS 67420, USA