I want to share a story from the Carmel Area Wastewater District - a story that highlights the amazing work special districts do behind the scenes, as well as the great job they’ve done sharing critical information with the public during the covid crisis.

When the crisis hit, CAWD was already in the middle of a critical assessment project in their community. So while most of us were busy buying toilet paper, stocking up our pantries, and downloading (or teaching people how to use) Zoom, the Carmel Area Wastewater District went to work. They staggered employee schedules, moved public hearings and meetings online, and found ways to efficiently share information throughout the annexation process.

Folks at CAWD recognized that people were distracted, but at the same time their goal is stay ahead of the public by providing information before people starting hitting their phones. Instead of relying on the community to visit their website for news, CAWD began proactively emailing project updates, meeting links and agendas directly to subscribers. (As we all know, keeping the public happy is important - nobody wants a cranky public hearing!)

CAWD was not only able to continue standard operations and the annexation project, but also to tackle multiple other projects that were already in the works pre-covid. It’s really a crazy story … and one that is representative of so many districts continuing to do amazing work throughout this difficult time. We’re so proud of our special districts!