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Columbus Light and Water is graduating from the old school

They don’t do it anymore – dig without calling Mississippi 811, that is. According to Steve Barksdale, Superintendent, Columbus Light and Water, “That’s old school.”

For years Columbus relied on a damage prevention program with emphasis on “who you know,” rather than “what you know.” They were not alone; other municipalities operated the same way. It began years ago, before the Mississippi 811 system. An excavation project usually started with a call to other utilities to see if they had any facilities in conflict with the planned work. It was easy because they knew each other; they were neighbors, some were even relatives. They had their phone numbers and since everyone was familiar with everyone, as well as street corners and landmarks, most of the information was given without dispatching a locator.

Columbus Light and Water used this “old school” method of protecting facilities until August 15, 2006. “That day we were doing a road bore for a two-inch water service,” Todd Gale, General Manager for Columbus Light and Water said. “And we hit a BellSouth line and put a third of the city out of phone service.” According to Mike Stacy, Distribution Supervisor, Columbus Light and Water, it was an unlucky hit. “It was one-in-a-million and we couldn’t do it again in a hundred years. We knew a line was there, we planned on boring up under it. But instead, we went right through the middle of it.”

Columbus Light and Water had called Mississippi Valley Gas to see if any gas lines were near, but the crew thought they were clear of the phone lines, so they didn’t contact BellSouth. “We just made a mistake, a big mistake,” Gale said. “We learned a valuable lesson, call before you dig.” Since the incident, the Columbus Light and Water Board has established a policy requiring employees who are planning to dig to call 811 first.

Columbus also left behind the old school system of protecting their facilities by trusting that excavators would call them before they started digging. “If they knew we had facilities near their work, sometimes they’d call, sometimes they wouldn’t,” Stacy said. “We’re now a member of Mississippi 811.”

The city of Columbus has a population of more than 20,000 with 13,000 electrical customers, 10,000 water and sewer customers served by almost 800 miles of distribution lines. Protecting customers from disrupted service has always been the goal, but public safety and facilities protection have been greatly enhanced by membership within Mississippi 811.

Another “old school” system Columbus is leaving behind is maintaining a distribution system using paper maps and the memory of longtime employees. “We just initiated a new, five-year rehab program where we’re completing upgrades to our water and sewer each year as the budget allows,” Barksdale said. “And we have a full-time employee using GPS to map our valves and hydrants and putting together a very accurate and functional database.”

The location of lines, valves, and hydrants is being layered over aerial images of the city providing a real-world view of the distribution system. Barksdale said the digital information has been very useful in presenting proposals for delivering services to potential business and industrial customers.

“We hope to do away with our old paper maps and eventually have computers in every truck with our entire service area readily available,” Barksdale said. “We’re quickly moving in that direction.”

“Columbus Light and Water is A-1,” Stacy said. “I can say that about the company. They’ve given us what we need – including locators and the new mapping department – whatever we need to do the best job possible.”

There is one “old school” method of doing business that Columbus Light and Water is not leaving behind. “We have good working relationships with other utilities and their locators,” Stacy said. “We have their phone numbers and we know who is responsible for what areas. If we have a problem, we just call.”

“It’s all about getting to know people,” Gale said. “And getting them to know us.”