Tim Kraus: His Imprint in Louisville Water’s Story

“We’ve been around 164 years; I’ve been here only eight. There have been many great people who have served as chief engineer. I respect and appreciate what those that came before me have accomplished.”

It’s not lost on Tim Kraus that he had an incredible opportunity to help shape the trajectory and future of Louisville Water during his tenure as Vice President – Chief Engineer. To build on what has been accomplished to date.

“We’ve implemented a significant number of changes while I have been here; specifically in terms of technology – CC&B (Customer Care & Billing), WAM (Work Asset Management), AMI (Advanced Metering Infrastructure). It is possible that this change is more than the company has experienced in our history.”

“I tell Spencer (Bruce, President & CEO) all the time it took me five years to figure out how to best fill my role. It’s a lot. Learning our culture, learning the people, learning all the processes. The chief engineer has a lot of responsibilities in terms of water quality, production, engineering, and planning. There’s a big uptake for sure.”

In the midst of those responsibilities, Kraus recognized the abilities and potential of the engineers on his team.

“I made a commitment to invest in existing employees to grow them such that they could be qualified candidates for the openings that occurred,” Kraus said, adding, “There’s quite a few directors and managers that we have filled internally as a result.”

Kraus applauds the company’s priority of a different investment.

“We do a really good job at investing in our hard assets and infrastructure, our pipes, tanks, and our plants.”

Investing in our infrastructure and protecting the integrity of Louisville Pure Tap® is paramount. Kraus recalled one of his most memorable days on the job was getting a call from Larry Bryant (who is now the VP – Chief Engineer) about an issue with turbidity, essentially the “cloudiness” of the water’s appearance.

“Larry said ‘Hey, Tim, I’m just letting you know we are shutting down B.E. Payne (Water Treatment Plant)’.”

While Bryant wasn’t alarmed, Kraus was fairly new and eager to gain hands-on experience along with the insight of internal water quality goals and response procedures.

“What we were doing to meet our goals is we shut down the plant to perform internal corrections to make sure we produced and distributed the best, high-quality water.  Our customers never knew it.”

Members of the production team worked into the night to ensure optimal water quality would leave B.E. Payne Water Treatment Plant in eastern Jefferson County.

“The aha moment to me was that we’ve got great people who absolutely embrace their responsibilities, and they’ll do nearly whatever it takes to meet our goals. I was like ‘wow, this is an incredible place; we have incredible employees’,” Kraus shared.

That commitment and dedication is what Kraus wants customers to realize about the work Louisville Water does every day.

“It’s one word. It’s trust.” Kraus said, “I hope the community trusts that we deliver and produce high-quality water and that we are good stewards of their resources.”

Kraus’ devotion to serving people goes beyond the surface. He was involved in the annual Veterans Day breakfast with MSD, recruiting volunteers for the Derby Festival’s mini/MARATHON race water stops, and is working on a tree memorial project before he leaves.

“The engineer’s creed says ‘….to the advancement and betterment of human welfare’. I’m a lot about servant leadership. I was mayor of a small city (in Jefferson County). I’ve always been very active in professional organizations. I am in a leadership role on the Red Cross board. People is what drives me, so it’s truly just serving people.”

It shouldn’t be surprising then that a focus on people will be part of Kraus’ retirement plans.

“Travel, volunteering, spending time with family and friends, and making new friends.”

While he’s making new memories in Thailand or on his wife’s bucket list trip of Antarctica, he will cherish the relationships he’s built here.

“I knew this was going to be my last hurrah before retiring and being part of Louisville Water Company and serving the customers was my driver and desire to be here. Just being part of that leadership team that accomplished what we did is what I’m most proud of,” Kraus remarked.

“I just hope that I’ve made this place a little bit better by sitting in that chair.”