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Resident criticizes county water operations and contractor oversight at McCormick County meeting
Summary
A resident urged the council to replace contractor Clearwater and questioned supervision after an Aug. 16 outage that left part of Plumbein Heights without water; he raised training, equipment and spending concerns and called for local control of water services.
During public comment at the Aug. 20 McCormick County Council meeting, resident Jimmy Collier sharply criticized the county’s water and sewer operations and the contractor Clearwater, saying a recent outage illustrated systemic failures in supervision and planning.
Collier described an Aug. 16 incident when water on Collier Street was shut off to repair a two-inch line next to a saddle club and an existing rock cut that has leaked for years. He said a transition valve that would have limited service interruptions was not used and that a third of Plumbein Heights lost water unnecessarily. Collier questioned why Clearwater supervisors were not present to oversee procedures and whether personnel had been trained to use county equipment and pass applicable commercial driver’s license (CDL) tests.
"Clearwater needs to go," Collier said, urging the council to listen to residents. He also suggested the county should consider electing one water-department representative from each district and turning management more directly to locally accountable officials.
Collier questioned use of lighter equipment on the job, the absence of CDL-qualified equipment operators, and broader spending priorities, asking, "Why are we spending $1,000,000 when we have no improvements?" The council did not provide a detailed rebuttal in the public-comment record; staff responses and any follow-up investigation were not recorded in the transcript.
The council did not take immediate action during the meeting; the comment was entered into the public record and may prompt follow-up from county staff or review of the Clearwater contract.
