If ever you wondered whether the people of the public water sector were real heroes, just try to remember how it felt when all the toilet paper ran out at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Nobody worried about whether water would still come into their houses and go away when it had been used. But what if water really had become as scarce as TP? Maybe then we'd start treating water-sector workers like the quiet heroes they are.

1. Rescue the Rescuer First
Brian Gongol
DJ Gongol & Associates, Inc.
November 5, 2020
Nebraska Section AWWA
Virtual Joint Fall Conference

2. Rescue the rescuer first

3. People like to feel a sense of belonging

4. The entire Coke brand is built on belonging

5. Occupation + mission = purpose

6. Public water utilities are a sacred trust

7. You keep civilization afloat

8. Don't believe me? Remember the TP panic?

9. Water workers, ER docs, and firefighters

10. Treat water operators like customers

11. It's easy: Many already ARE customers

12. Water work isn't for just anybody

13. Even high-status jobs can have unpleasantness

14. Unpleasant by necessity vs. by neglect

15. Neglect is the opposite of design

16. Water customers are captive

17. Water workers aren't

18. Treat workers right or they'll leave

19. Protecting water workers must be a priority

20. Sanitation as heroism

21. Just barely safe enough isn't good enough

22. Water workers are community heroes

23. How do we get to that heroic state of mind?

24. Every corner cut on safety is a choice

25. Unpleasant working conditions are a choice

26. Back-breaking labor is a choice

27. Equipment shortcomings are a choice

28. Firefighters don't have to work with bad ladders

29. ER docs don't have to risk explosive gases

30. The water sector is full of unsung heroes

31. A few modest rules

32. 1. Superheroes fly; they don't go underground

33. 2. Batman doesn't leave droppings in his cave

34. 3. Spider-Man always has a safety net

35. 4. James Bond always gets working gadgets

36. 5. Superman stays away from kryptonite

37. What comes from eliminating hazards

38. 1. It fixes problems that put workers at risk

39. 2. It helps make the industry more attractive

40. Life-saving water heroes deserve rescue first

41. This takes buy-in from the whole team

42. Engineers: Design for safety

43. Regulators: Demand the state of the art

44. Managers: Go to bat for working conditions

45. Boards and councils: Pay for real value

46. Vendors: Opt out of races to the bottom

47. Operators: Insist on treatment like customers

48. Rescue the rescuer first - and do it now
If we don't start the movement from within,
nobody else is coming to our rescue

49. Questions or comments?
Brian Gongol
DJ Gongol & Associates, Inc.
515-223-4144
brian@gongol.net
@djgongol on social media

50. Sources
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Unless otherwise noted, all photos are the original work of the
author
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"Standard" bathroom fixtures ad from the Maui News, October 29,
1910, found at
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn82014689/1910-10-29/
ed-1/seq-8/
#date1=1789&sort=relevance&rows=20&words=SANITATION&sea
rchType=basic&sequence=0&index=13&state=&date2=1963&proxt
ext=sanitation&y=0&x=0&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=4
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Public-domain ISO sign for forklift found at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_7010#/media/File:ISO_7010_W
014.svg