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Latest News
February 15, 2010
Annual Meeting Notice
At the Annual Meeting, voting will be held for several by-laws updates and for four director’s positions. Three positions are for full three years terms and the fourth position is for an unexpired one-year term. The Connections Newsletter noted that three positions were up for election while the correct number is four.
The candidates for the positions are:
Tuffy Dixon
Rick Scali
Sandy Trammell
Tom Weidenhamer
All four are Destin residents, and all are willing to serve. Nominations from the floor can be made at the annual meeting but the candidates being nominated must be present to accept the nomination. In addition, the candidate must be a member of Destin Water Users, Inc.
DWU’s Annual Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, March 2, 2010, at 5 p.m. The meeting will be held in DWU’s new offices located at 218 Main Street.
A copy of the Connections Newsletter, inluding the proxy form, can be found here.
February 03, 2010
Destin Census 2010
Destin’s 2010 Census Count Forms will be delivered by hand from Census Employees who will go door to door beginning on 22 March and ending on 29 May 2010. The hand delivery affects coastal resort communities (residency tends to be more transient and tougher to determine). All residents regardless of owning or renting should fill out the forms. Residents, if at home at delivery time, will be able to ask questions of these delivery personnel known as Update Enumerators. If you are not at home, the forms will be left in door hangers on your front doors. You should complete the forms and return them as soon as possible using the return envelopes provided as part of your Census Packet. Census Employees will revisit the City of Destin June – Aug 2010 to identify those local residents who did not return their forms and provide additional forms to complete the required Census Count. To download the Destin Census 2010 handout please click here.
January 06, 2010
Tips for Cold Weather Protection of your water system.
- If you have a backflow preventer, covering and insulating it will help keep it from freezing. Remember that freezing temperatures will include several inches underground. If you can’t insulate it then the trickling water tip will help protect it also. Just covering it with a tarp or blanket will help keep any available heat in and assist your efforts to prevent freezing.
- Where plumbing fixtures are on an outside wall like in a kitchen or bathroom, leave the cabinet doors open at night to help keep the pipes warmer.
- Leave a faucet trickling. This brings in warmer water from the mains outside and prevents freezing. It only takes a small trickle and is very inexpensive. Put a quart mason jar under the faucet and time how long it takes to fill. If it takes one minutes or longer to fill then the flow is 0.25 gallons per minute or less. Letting it run like this for 12 hours a day would use about 180 gallons at a cost typically less than fifty cents.
- If a pipe does freeze prompt thawing can prevent bursting. Open flames are often responsible for home fires and not recommended. One of the most effective tools I have tried is a hair dryer—they are fast, effective and safer than an open flame like a propane torch.
- Adding insulation or heat tapes is great if you can get access to the pipes which may freeze.
- Remove garden hoses from outside faucets. Leaving a garden hose attached greatly increases the likelihood of damage.
- Dock spigots are extremely vulnerable to freezing and should be protected.
ONLINE BILL PAYMENT
We are proud to announce that our Online Bill Payment Option is now ready for our members. With the May statement, you will have access to make your payment online. In addition to the online payment option, we have added an automated account inquiry phone system. You will be able to use this feature 24 hours a day to check the status of your account.
Dated: May 19, 2009
Destin Water Users prepares to launch several new payment options including online payments. The final testing of the improvements are underway.
Dated: April 7, 2009
FRAUD ALERT
In many locations persons impersonating utility company employees knock on doors and state that they work for your utility company and are there to test the water inside your house. These persons once inside your house will go through the motions of testing water and will engage you in conversation while their accomplices steal your personal belongings. DWU customers are urged to contact DWU administrative offices if anyone tries to enter your house on the pretense they are utility company employees. It should also be noted that the elderly are the first choice of these scammers and thieves since it is the elderly that are most concerned about their health; but anyone can fall victim.
Dated: February 19, 2009
Destin Water Users, Inc. Launches New Web Site
The Destin Water Users, Inc. web site has been inactive for many months for a variety of reasons but now we are back in contact. This new site is still under construction and will soon be populated with more information about DWU and more information for our customers.
On the home page we have a section for advisories. We will post information there for topics of immediate interest. For instance, hurricane preparation tips and instructions may be posted, precautionary boil water notices will be posted so that people can find out quickly and easily if they are in a PBWN affected area, start of school reminders, and other items that are of pressing importance. We will regularly update the latest news section. This section may include progress reports on construction projects, recognitions, health fairs and blood drives, and items of common interest to our customers.
We have also set up a customer feedback page so that you may post your comments – good or bad. This will be helpful to management in assessing actions needed for improvement. This utility belongs to our members and your comments are valuable to us.
We are working hard to implement an on-line bill paying system. This effort has been on-going for some time but this time we think the light at the end of this tunnel is not another train. We hope you check back often.
Dated: April 22, 2008