Elaine Lucas takes on next public service role in Macon Water Authority Board

Soon after, Lucas was offered a teaching job, which brought her back to Macon. She later received her master’s degree in education from Fort Valley State University.

Lucas sits behind a large desk at the EL High School Academy off Shurling Drive — an education program she created in 2011 for those who did not complete high school to re-enroll and receive their diploma. 

Earlier this year, she reached her term limit on the commission. Stanley Stewart won the election to fill her District 3 spot.

With another public service accolade under her belt, she said running for the Macon Water Authority Board just seemed like the next “logical” step in her career.

“I ran unopposed and received almost 12,000 votes,” she said of her campaign for the water board. “And so that said to me, that people wanted me to continue serving.”

Lucas sat on the county commission when it had decided to delegate storm drainage work to the water authority instead of the county. 

“We knew that county government couldn’t handle that as well as the water authority,” she said. 

The county also appropriated millions of dollars from special purpose local option sales tax (SPLOST) and included a $4.99 charge on residents’ water bill to fund stormwater upgrades and repairs. 

Having heard the concerns citizens brought to her when she served on the county commission, she felt confident the Macon Water Authority would be familiar territory. 

The water board has their work cut out for them, according to Lucas who said there has not been enough maintenance in previous years and there’s still millions of dollars worth of work to be done.

“We gotta catch up,” she said. 

Lucas and her fellow board members need to ensure facilities run efficiently, avoid potential contamination and consider the threat of cyber attacks to the water supply. 

She also emphasized the need to educate the community on what the water authority is and how it operates because it is not an entity often understood by the general public. 

Folks tend to oppose things when they’re not given all the information, Lucas explained, but she hopes residents will feel more “comfortable” with the water authority’s efforts and how taxpayer dollars are being spent once they better understand the process.

“Once you explain that there’s been a lot that’s not been done and it’s now time to do it,” she said. “I think you can justify increasing rates very carefully.”

In the coming year, Lucas hopes to engage with residents in town hall meetings to answer their questions and make sure service requests are addressed. She is also considering the idea of regularly publishing a water authority update report. 

“Whatever the entity, the folks are funding it,” she said. “And they deserve to know what’s going on.”

Her husband, Georgia State Sen. David Lucas, is working on introducing legislation to create more than the existing four water board districts. He asserts the districts are far too big, with each one serving nearly 38,000 people. 

A “citizen’s advocate,” Lucas believes it is her duty to carry her constituents’ wishes to the table and she wants to see to it that folks in all parts of the county receive updated storm drainage and have access to clean and sufficient water.

“We should make sure that everybody can see that they count and that they’re as important as any other area,” she said.