This episode of 21st Century Water features a dynamic conversation with Ghassan Korban, Executive Director of the Sewage & Water Board of New Orleans. Korban shares insights from his six-year tenure, focusing on the challenges and transformative solutions for New Orleans’ water infrastructure, a system vital to a city below sea level. The episode dives into the critical steps taken to modernize the city’s systems, sustain its population, and adapt to increasing environmental challenges.
Korban reflects on transitioning to New Orleans after 31 years in Milwaukee, driven by his passion for solving complex engineering problems. He recounts inheriting a system struggling with aging infrastructure and a battered reputation following significant flooding in 2017. Korban emphasizes the importance of prioritizing efforts, starting with stabilizing critical systems while pursuing long-term, future-proof solutions.
A major milestone for the city has been the development of a new power generation complex, ensuring reliable energy for drainage operations—essential for keeping the city dry during rain events. This new system transitions from antiquated, failure-prone turbines to a robust mix of external power supply and backup gas turbines, designed to serve the city for decades. Korban also highlights the successful rollout of smart meters (AMI), addressing billing inaccuracies and modernizing customer service, with over half the population now transitioned to the new system.
The discussion explores innovative funding strategies, including New Orleans’ unique “fair share” agreement, which channels tourism-generated tax revenue into water infrastructure projects. With the Super Bowl around the corner and Mardi Gras to follow, Korban explains New Orleans' unique position as a city with more tourists than residents. This effort, alongside loans and grants from programs like WIFIA and SRF, has helped fund critical improvements while reducing the financial burden on residents. Korban underscores the importance of earning trust through effective execution, ensuring future funding access.
Korban also describes the intricacies of New Orleans’ drainage system, consisting of 24 strategically placed pumping stations with nearly 100 pumps. These systems often activate up to 20 times a year, often during heavy rains, to prevent flooding. Additionally, Korban shares the city’s response to new threats like saltwater intrusion in the Mississippi River, driven by drought and climate change, which jeopardizes the city's raw water supply.
The episode concludes with a discussion on the importance of workforce development and legacy building. Korban expresses confidence in the team he has cultivated and their ability to carry forward a culture of innovation, responsibility, and resilience. He also emphasizes the urgency of addressing talent gaps and sustaining investment in infrastructure to meet the evolving demands of a changing environment.
Korban’s work exemplifies leadership through prioritization, execution, and adaptability. His focus on sustainable, resilient systems and creative funding solutions serves as a model for cities grappling with aging infrastructure and climate challenges.
New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board: https://www.swbno.org
Voiceover (00:01):
Tremendous challenges and opportunities exist right now for our nation's water infrastructure. In this podcast, the industry's top leaders and innovative minds share their knowledge and insights for ensuring our water systems are operating safely and efficiently.
These discussions are designed to motivate and create vibrant 21st century water systems and the innovative workforce required to lead and operate them. This is 21st Century Water with your host, Aquasight founder, and CEO Mahesh Lunani.
Mahesh Lunani (00:33):
Well, good morning, good afternoon, good evening. I am with Ghassan Korban. He's executive director of the Sewage & Water Board of New Orleans, a position he has held since September 2018.
Ghassan is leading efforts to not only modernize the city's water infrastructure and focusing on delivering clean water but efficiently making sure that the drainage operations work reliably.
Prior to this role, Ghassan dedicated 31 years at Milwaukee's Department of Public Works, culminating in his appointment as a commissioner in 2011, a great achievement. He earned both his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering and Master of Science in Construction Management from Marquette University of Milwaukee.
I'm personally excited to welcome Ghassan to the podcast to discuss his operations, leadership and strategies, principles, and he brings to this role in how the city is preparing to host Super Bowl LIX. Welcome, Ghassan.
Ghassan Korban (01:34):
Good morning or good afternoon, or good evening. Thanks for having me.
Mahesh Lunani (01:38):
Real pleasure. Now I've known New Orleans Sewage Water Board for a long time. It is a department that was under massive pressure to fix things. And for you to take on a challenge after being what you were in Milwaukee, what kind of inspired you to take that role on?
Ghassan Korban (01:55):
Yeah, that's a great question. I think it was perfect timing, perfect storm, whatever you want to call it. I had finished 31 years, like you stated before, of tenure with the city of Milwaukee, finishing with eight years as a commissioner of public works.
And you know what? Engineers love to solve problems. And the bigger the problem, sometimes the more excitement and the more challenging it is, the more gratifying. And this position came about. And I was somewhat lured into looking into it and considering it.
And I felt initially that it sounded daunting, but also exciting and interesting. And it took on the challenge of competing for it and landed the job. And it became more than a job, I must say, over six years of experience here, it's been a journey, and I certainly can call this journey a calling for me. I truly believe that. I can't imagine doing anything else after having been here for six and a half years. It was meant to be.
So, I'm excited. And I think the six and a half years have proved, again, challenging, but it's also very gratifying.
Mahesh Lunani (03:05):
What was interesting is you talked as an engineer first, you want to solve big problems. Then you talked as a spiritual person, saying it's a calling. And that's quite amazing how passionate you are about what you're doing.
So, I want to talk about when New Orleans comes through our minds, we talk about flooding, we talk about hurricanes, and now just before this call, you told me you had 10 inches of snow, right?
Ghassan Korban (03:29):
Mm-hmm.
Mahesh Lunani (03:30):
And of course, the sea level rise. The kinds of stuff that are beyond your control, that you got to weather. What actions are you taking to ensure resiliency in the city's system and with the cards you are dealt with that are outside your control?
Ghassan Korban (03:45):
Yeah, so the first thing to remember is that the city of New Orleans has been in existence as a city, as a civilization for over 300 years, 307 years to be specific. And it has been an awesome city, a thriving city for all these years. So, there's history in overcoming adversities and crises. And the modern challenges are maybe what we feel a little bit different, maybe a bit more challenging.
So, the way you do it is you take it on, you don't waiver, you can't control it, but you can control the impact. So, what you do is you look at your assets, your system. You look for vulnerabilities, you look for a single point of failures, you look for weaknesses. And then you start prioritizing.
And if you look at solving everything all at once, you would never solve anything because it's just too overwhelming, too costly, too unrealistic.
So, our job here is to start prioritizing what must be attacked today versus addressed tomorrow. So, we've taken that approach on, and we were able to again solve one issue at a time, but it also how you solve it.
When I took on this utility, it was just recovering from a major flood event in 2017 that really was very devastating. Not only the city, but the utility’s image and ability to serve. Having that in mind obviously drove some of the decisions we started to make.
So, one thing we did not want to do is repeat mistakes or repeat approaches like maintaining antiquated equipment rather than taking the leap and look at what permanent solutions can we push, advance, advocate for and look for funding for. And we've been doing that for the last six years.
While you have to hold things stable with interim solutions, nothing that we have taken on and address as a problem or as a challenge without really identifying and executing a long-term solution to a recurring or inevitable issue. Whether we're a utility responsible for drainage, we're responsible for drinking water and wastewater collection and treatment.
So, we do all three things. And we also have our own power generation, which has been a core service for our internal power generation. So, all these things together, you had to address all areas with the same vision, with the same approach. Build something for the future, build something for the next 50 years, don't settle for a temporary fix because that fix will not last.
Mahesh Lunani (06:47):
Right. You've got four legs to the stool, the power generation, the drainage, the wastewater, and the water. And then it looks like you're filtering through all these issues and prioritizing them.
That comes to my point. Obviously aging infrastructure, I assume is a big component of all the issues you face. What are two or three things that you have executed that is a long-term sustainable solution for some of the issues that the city faced in the past?
Ghassan Korban (07:18):
Generically speaking, on my first month here, I made a very forward prediction and commitment to the city. And it even made the newspaper first cover that the ED says replacement is the only option. And in this case, I was talking about everything, but there was one thing that was very imminent, where we had such fragile, antiquated power generation that had failed us for many years. It served us for a hundred years very well.
But in the last 10 or so years, it really had become a weak link in our ability to manage drainage in the city, which is very critical. We have a mechanical drainage system and power is an integral part of that.
So, we did a master plan for our power, and we identified the one and first thing to do is to replace the power generation. So, I'm pleased to tell you now, four years later, we are about to fully commission the new power complex that brings to the utility and the city a single source of power that's adequate, beyond adequate, durable, reliable, efficient, and allowing us to decommission all the old, antiquated piece of equipment.
That concept has been talked about probably for a good 20 years. And it came the time where you could not punt anymore. And again, we made it a priority. We found partners, we found funding, and again, we're almost ready to turn the switch on, so to speak, and start a new page for the city. And again, new power supply for the next 50 years.
Another project that's been a game changer for the city and our customers, we have 140,000 customers in the city. And we read or used to read every single meter every month to produce a bill. And that was just fraught with potential errors and mistakes and just, it was antiquated approach and just was not serving the city well or in a way they deserve.
So, again, we made it a priority to set out a … which many cities have already done and well beyond us, but in our case, we're still reading meters. So, we set out to do a smart meter program, AMI. We launched it again about three years ago or so, took a lot of planning, a lot of funding. We just celebrated a milestone at the end of last year whereby installing half the population of meters.
So, over 70,000 smart meters have been installed, producing smart bills. Again, to many readers that may sound normal or standard, while in our city it was not. And now we're looking forward to ‘25, bringing the other half of the population and having a fully automated system that the city deserves.
Again, this is a project that was piloted maybe 18 years ago and just the momentum was lost. The funding was not there and there was not enough advocacy for it. And we made it a priority because we knew it was very critical and we're in the midst of delivering it.
And I can name a few others, but those are the two big ones that people have been hungry for action and we're delivering that for them.
Mahesh Lunani (11:04):
No, this is excellent because I always believe execution is more important than planning. Because execution of what brings home and sounds like these are massive- hundreds of millions perhaps in some cases- programs that you launched in the last four years. I'm just curious, is this a natural gas-powered electric power system you have installed?
Ghassan Korban (11:27):
So, the one approach we took is we departed from self-generation as the primary source and we went to the local energy company and we funded the project, but they built a substation that's connected to transmission lines that has strong durable feeders coming into the city, not the grid system, which is vulnerable. And that becomes the source of power. Instead of having multiple turbines and frequency changers.
And we had to cobble about 10 different sources of power before a rainstorm to make sure we had adequate power. And all of them were vulnerable and all of them were susceptible to failure during the storm.
So, that is the primary source. But at the same time, believing in redundancy as a fact of life in this city, we can't afford having one source. We are building gas turbines that will serve as an alternative power or backup power to the substation should we have any failure in that, which is not likely, but we can't leave things to chance in the city, especially when it comes to drainage.
Mahesh Lunani (12:36):
Yeah. You got a plan A, which is exported power generation, electric company, and a plan B for yourself.
Ghassan Korban (12:42):
Both being executed as we speak. So, we’ll stand up both the power complex with both components ready to serve.
Mahesh Lunani (12:50):
Excellent. I want to go to the next question, which is funding. Of course, you don't have an unlimited checkbook. And neither do the residents have, right?
Ghassan Korban (12:58):
Right.
Mahesh Lunani (12:59):
Besides the two big programs, how are you addressing funding issues to drive high levels of service, a high level of reliability, and where would the money be going after these two big programs? Where are the next big funding parts going to go to, for your system?
Ghassan Korban (13:19):
Very good question. Obviously, if you're a utility that is struggling with the reputation, it's tough to ask for money and receive money. And it's very customary for a utility like ours to rely on rate payers or a user fee dependent utility. And we know that a major component or portion of our community struggles with keeping up with their bills.
So, it's been a challenge. So, one thing we addressed with the help of the mayor at the beginning in 2018 and was signed in 2019, recognizing that while we serve a city of about 380,000 people. Tt's a smaller city by many standards. We also serve about 17 million visitors a year.
So, our system is built to serve that, and the numbers of course fluctuate, and it ebbs and flows, but on average we host 17 million people a year. So, our infrastructure has to be able to do that.
So, we made the case to the state and the tourism industry that these tourists come here and enjoy the benefits and then they leave a lot of money behind in taxes and obviously the economy continues to thrive, but we don't see any direct benefits from it.
So, a deal was struck, we call it the fair share, and now we are able to collect roughly $25 million a year that - where it may look or seem small in terms of all the entire need - that we have and entire amount of funding we need. But that now is allowing us to have a steady and reliable source that we can plug in where we have funding gaps.
So, that fund, we call it the infrastructure maintenance fund, has helped funding the smart meter program, not entirely, but in part it has helped with the power complex. It has helped us with many other projects that would've been sitting idle without that money. So, that's definitely been a very great supplemental funding source for us.
We've also looked at outside funding such as WIFIA. WIFIA has become a very instrumental funding source for many utilities. And we took that on, we are under a consent decree for our wastewater system collection system, and we were able to secure a $270 million loan that obviously we have to pay back, and it amounts to about $500 million project because of the way it's split: 49/51.
And people say, well, you borrowed the money, you have to spend it. That's true. But the money became available to us to continue with our consent decree work to get out of it, which we will, by the way, by the end of this year.
But that loan and the way it was structured and negotiated saved us about a hundred million dollars in interest alone. Because if we had gone to the market, the typical market, and borrowed money, which we would've been eligible for it, we would've had to spend a lot more money to capture that much needed funding.
So, just being creative and just making a strong case and then also prove that you are worthy of taking the money and putting it to good use. We're recipients of lots of federal dollars because of Katrina, for example.
So, there's that relationship between us and them and we bring them often to visit our projects and show them the accomplishments and how we are utilizing the funds very responsibly and directly and to meet the spirit and the intent of the funding.
So, you don't settle, you make a strong case, and you compete, and you go for the money where it is. Another example is the lead service line replacement program. It's a law in 2027; we are going to be required to start replacing our lead lines and we have 10 years to do it.
Well, we're starting sooner. And we already captured $84 million through the SRF. Half of it is a loan, half of it is a grant that allows us to launch that program. And then we are eyeing another 66 million. Those opportunities, they're few and far in between, so you got to take advantage when they're available to you. And we've been fairly successful reducing the burden on our rate payers by finding those outside sources.
Mahesh Lunani (17:59):
Those WIFIA and the LSL programs, great funding. But what I loved was the fair share. Did you benchmark that or is this like a unique thing in your case?
Ghassan Korban (18:08):
I mean, very few cities can make the argument that they serve more visitors than residents. I think we're unique in that regard. I would recommend trying it with others, but if you're not capturing revenues that you should, there was a direct correlation between our services provided to the-
Mahesh Lunani (18:30):
Hundred percent.
Ghassan Korban (18:32):
So, it's an easy case to make and we had a strong mayor who advocated, and she's the president of my board, by the way; we're board governed. And she was very successful obviously in making the case with the folks on the other side, so to speak. And we're enjoying the benefit of that.
Mahesh Lunani (18:49):
Yeah. No, I love it. It's a very good example of all the guests I've spoken to, and this one is truly unique in that sense. When I was in Istanbul, I remember seeing the underground water tunnels, those created hundreds of years ago, even maybe thousand years. It was fascinating for me.
Ghassan Korban (19:05):
Yeah. I've seen those.
Mahesh Lunani (19:07):
Very few people know that drainage pumping system in city of New Orleans, they know because of the news from Katrina, et cetera. And now you created a reliable, hopefully soon reliable power infrastructure.
Can you explain in numbers this drainage structure and the pumps, et cetera, in a quick two-minute clip if somebody wants to really understand the complexity, what you got?
Ghassan Korban (19:32):
Yeah, so obviously it starts with the fact that we are a city that lie below sea level. We live in a bowl. And many people know that, but some don't. So, the two higher elevation of our city is the river and Lake Pontchartrain, which is the opposite of most other cities, if not all other cities. where the rivers or lakes are the lowest point in terms of the topography.
In our case, just because we're at the mouth of the river, sedimentation through hundreds and hundreds of years, it built up this sediment and then created what we all know as the French Quarter. That's a result of floods and sediments overflowing the banks of the river for hundreds of years.
So, at the middle part of the city is 8 to 10 feet lower than the rest of it. So, when it rains, water uses gravity to run to its lowest point. But at one point that water starts building up. And then eventually if it continues raining, it will fill up.
So, our drainage system is a mechanical system where that low point has a pumping station, and we have 24 of them while the city strategically obviously positioned. And we have about 97 drainage pumping station pumps that actually take that water and pump it over the levees into, for the most part, Lake Pontchartrain but in one or two instances to the river.
It's a very critical, obviously, part of the survival of the city, allow it to thrive and be the city that it is. But without that working with, I would say hundreds of mechanical and moving parts, the city would not survive.
So, it's very critical and very vulnerable because all you need is one or two incidents where you have a failure somewhere and then you have an issue. And that's what they had back in 2017 allowing the city to flood.
I don’t know if I'm answering your question, but it's very complex because people take it for granted that water goes into catch basin, daylights into a river or some stream and they're done. In our case, that stream is the canal, and the canal will fill up and if it's not pumped, then the city just can’t be there.
Mahesh Lunani (21:54):
It'll flood the system. I'm curious how many times a year those drainage pumps get activated on an average?
Ghassan Korban (22:01):
I would say at least a dozen times, if not more. So, we have two systems; we call it the dry weather pumps. So, on regular basis we have about 25 pumps that kind of, whether you have inflow in the system, that water that just come from the groundwater, whether people are washing their cars, whatever the case may be, make its way to the canals.
And then those smaller pumps we're talking about 50 to a hundred cubic feet per second, those are all constantly working, so they're constant duty pumps.
The other ones, I would say maybe I'm underestimating, it's probably a good 20 times. And it's not always the same pumping station. Rain doesn't always happen consistently across the city. So, we watch levels of the canal and then based on certain criteria we have, we prime the pumps and start pumping.
Mahesh Lunani (22:53):
It sounds like people get on those walkie-talkies and they're constantly keeping an eye on this. It's just one of those moments, right? Everybody has to pay attention.
Ghassan Korban (23:00):
Absolutely. And obviously we're getting a little bit more automated. You got to lay your eyes on the level in some instances and in some other instances you rely on SCADA and other systems to monitor the levels.
Mahesh Lunani (23:12):
We are two weeks away from Super Bowl, you know exactly the teams that's going to be there. I wish my hometown team was there. What role does your department play and do you play any role at the department? Do you play any role?
Ghassan Korban (23:25):
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, we're the water utility serving the city with all three key services. So, we are in it, we're one of many agencies that have been preparing for several months to be ready for a very exciting event, obviously, and very excited about that and happy that that's our city that's hosting the Super Bowl.
So, at multiple levels we are involved. So, from a risk management perspective we deal with, our emergency management office deals with the homeland security from the city and the state. Obviously, the NFL have their own team on the ground, making sure very stringent rules and we've been obviously working with them very closely.
A key commitment we made is to complete all projects that are impacting any routes in the zone or surrounding where the event is going to take place downtown. And if the projects are not complete, we committed to securing those sites to make them safe.
Obviously, increasing accessibility, the best we can. Things we operationally do because of Mardi Gras, so we're very familiar with what those events dictate from us: is we stage crews in specific areas. We're not precluded from entering a zone. So, we have crew stage in the specific zones and trapped, so to speak, but they are to serve as needed.
So, it enhances the response time to obviously whatever we may face, but overall, we're making sure that our system is operating well. We have enough pressure. So, all the things that we'd expect us to check the box on, make sure that we serve, again, hundreds of thousands of visitors all coming at once to enjoy themselves in the city.
Mahesh Lunani (25:15):
No, a fantastic two weeks for you, for sure. I'm curious, is Mardi Gras bigger or this one bigger? Maybe I'm very oblivious to this question myself.
Ghassan Korban (25:24):
So, Mardi Gras is bigger in two perspectives. One, it's a much larger footprint. The route itself spans more than two or three miles. So, the impact and how you manage that is much more difficult than just having barricaded zone and say, “This is our area, this is what we're going to do.”
But it's also longer. It spends about roughly 13 days’ worth of parades and events and what have you. So, from traffic, it's a very challenging event. A lot of streets are blocked. Parking is huge. And I believe the number of people who come in throughout the entire period is more, I can't tell you for sure.
But we see it as a bigger event. And obviously it's the pride and joy of the city. So, we take that very seriously, but they're both very critical and very important for us. So, we're going to do the best we can.
Mahesh Lunani (26:19):
And they both make tourists happy, let's put it this way. I want to talk about my favorite topic, digital and AI. Obviously, there's a lot being talked about this in the last several months and maybe a couple of years. In fact, today the big drop in stock market was result of the concern from DeepSeek, which is a Chinese AI and how they come up with a very low-cost version.
I'm curious, what's your view on this and where do you see the biggest opportunities for your department?
Ghassan Korban (26:50):
I'll have to admit that although we all recognize that there are opportunities, we really haven't wrapped our arms or brains around what those would look like. We have intentionally taken a step back about maybe three, four months ago, maybe six months ago to start assessing what those would look like. So, we're in the midst of that.
I would say we are on our infancy stage in terms of utilizing AI and optimizing what it can do for us. One thing that we're not concerned, but we have to acknowledge and that comes up often, is it's a new skillset that all of us have to kind of learn, so it actually is used correctly, directly, appropriately. And also, to optimize the benefits.
You could go sideways with it, arguably, and do more harm than good. So, we created a training program for our employees. We're starting with a key number to make sure that those are ahead of, in terms of knowledge and learning what the potentials look like. And then going to start obviously allowing it to the rest of the — we're about 1,300 people- and as a utility.
So, we're starting very intentional, very systematic, and maybe somebody can say we're a little slow, but we want to do this right because it's here to stay and we want to make sure we just do it once and we do it well.
Mahesh Lunani (28:22):
No, you cannot furnish your house and decorate your house when you got foundation weak. And that's what you're doing. And I a hundred percent get it that you're trying to get your foundation strong first.
I want to ask about, I mean, clearly you are fixing based on the priority roadmap you have, what's the biggest challenge if you look forward the next 10 years, right?
Ghassan Korban (28:44):
Yeah.
Mahesh Lunani (28:45):
What's the challenges and what are the proactive steps you are doing now so they can be addressed?
Ghassan Korban (28:52):
Well, they're just too numerous to count. Quite honestly. Keeping up with the degradation of our system is a major concern. I think that would be anywhere. And no matter what utility you are, if you don't keep up with your upkeep and your capital improvement, you're going to struggle and you're going to suffer in the future. So, that is the number one concern for me.
And that's why I'm trying to build a utility that's reputable and well known for spending money where money is needed in terms of prioritization. Never over promise, never over commit. Be realistic about what you can deliver to the city.
So, that's, to me had been very critical approach to be able to gain funding in the future. Not within any of our control. The changing weather patterns that we're seeing is a concern of mine.
So, while we can't change it or impact it, you can accept it. You can predict that it's going to get … even if it doesn't get worse, it's going to continue to be challenging. One thing we didn't talk about earlier is, one phenomenon that we're facing now as a new phenomenon is the salt water intrusion.
With the sometimes drought that's happening north of us, reducing the flow of our Mississippi, weakening it, where it allows the gulf water to push up against it and then create this wedge of salt pushing up and threatening the source of water, raw water intake that we used to serve the city.
That was never on my radar until about two years ago when it happened. And it was very close. Luckily it was averted just because of the change in the weather and things that remediation or mitigation techniques that the Corps of Engineers did in the river to minimize the impact.
But the point is that those things worry me. And if you are able to address them in a resilient fashion or you're going to struggle.
So, again, say these because I continuously repeat it to my team in terms of what the future will look like and what you have to accept and anticipate and manage. In our case as a city, and again, it's not a technical issue as much as we have a, what I would say is a dwindling population, hopefully it's not a long-term issue, but I've seen it the last couple years and that's a tax base issue for us.
As you said we’re a user fee, the less people use water, the less revenue we have. So, that's a concern of mine. I can’t do a lot about it other than serve the city the best I can and not be the reason for them to leave. And obviously there's a lot of other people who play a role in maintaining a healthy population and hopefully maybe even attract more of it.
And lastly, again, it's not technical by any means because the technical issues are easier to solve, is the loss of talent. I'm very concerned about seeing people leave utilities without really an obvious that will come in and replace who we have.
The institutional knowledge, the battle tested folks that we need, especially in our city. You can't teach that. You have to go through it to learn it. And I'm concerned about that imbalance that might happen, hopefully much later than sooner.
Mahesh Lunani (32:27):
Yeah. Legitimate issues. These are really strong issues. Dwindling population, talent gap, I mean salt water intrusion. I mean, how do we get 1,100 people trying to fight all these battles. Right?
Ghassan Korban (32:41):
Right.
Mahesh Lunani ():
So, that brings to my last question, and this is a fascinating discussion to me, but 31 years in Milwaukee and another six so far, you're 37 years into this sector. I'm sure you got a lot more left in you, but I'm sure you're thinking about legacy. With your kind of depth of knowledge and experience, you always think about legacy. What is your legacy? How would you consider a measure of success that you leave behind? What would that be?
Ghassan Korban (33:12):
You are right. We do worry about our legacy because we have invested so much of our lives to make something better. And I know that sounds like a cliche, but I do want to leave this utility in a better shape than when I started. And I believe that I will.
And the biggest test for me when I depart is whether the momentum and the culture that we created the last six or seven years will continue in terms of being visionary, being strong in your message that this is needed. We need funding. We're a responsible utility.
So, if everybody that I've brought on and hopefully will leave behind, not only in a good place, but they would continue that message and that approach, that would be to me the most rewarding thing ever.
And to continue to hear the good news and how they're even pushing beyond what I pushed and do better than I did, that would be remarkable for me. And I would be so elated. And I trust that I will be, to be honest with you, I know the people that I have put in places, they're hungry, they're dedicated, they are visionary. They just love their job with lots of passion. So, I'm like, no doubt in my mind that they're going to continue that mission moving forward.
Mahesh Lunani (34:37):
No, I hear the confidence in you on this topic. So, listen Ghassan, after 31 years, you went on a calling. If I were to sum up our discussion, you went on a calling, you wanted to solve a big problem, you prioritized things because you just couldn't handle every issue that you're dealt with.
You went after creating a parallel new energy source for your drainage operations, a new AMI system. You went after not just the tax base for funding, but also the tourism base to drive funding, including WIFIA and LSL.
You run a very interesting complex, one-of-a-kind pumping drainage operations in the United States. And hosting the Super Bowl, which you already experience if you host Mardi Gras. So, this is a piece of the cake as far as I'm concerned. And your concerns are so legitimate in terms of salt, water intrusion and talent gap you have.
And finally, the confidence that you believe the team you got in place will really take your legacy forward whenever that would be. I'm not saying it would … it’s coming, this is a fascinating story for me to listen and also, I'm sure for the audience. So, I want to thank you personally for sparing your time and sharing your great wisdom and insights.
Ghassan Korban (35:58):
Thank you. That was awesome. And I had lots of fun doing it. So, pleasure.
[Music Playing]
Voiceover (36:02):
Join host and Aquasight founder and CEO Mahesh Lunani for another episode of 21st Century Water produced by JAG in Detroit Podcasts.