Grovetown sewer director leaves post

A change in scenery is in store for former Grovetown Water and Sewer Director Todd Baldwin, who will begin a new job Monday helping manage wastewater for an Atlanta suburb.

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Baldwin, who has managed the Grovetown's sewer and water lines since 2004, said he has accepted a position in Conyers with private utility management and engineering firm ESG Operations. His last day on the job in Grovetown was Friday, and he will begin in Conyers as a wastewater project manager intern Monday.

Baldwin announced in July that he had accepted a preliminary job offer from ESG to oversee water and sewer operations in one or two small cities in the Savannah area. Baldwin said that position might become available in the future, and his new job will prepare him to handle the systems of larger municipalities.

He said he will miss his colleagues in Grovetown, whom he calls "family."

"The hardest thing I had to do ... was having to tell (Grovetown Mayor Dennis Trudeau)," he said. "I have as much respect for him as my father."

Trudeau called Baldwin an "exceptional person" and said two water and sewer employees will step up to fill his role on an interim basis until a successor can be named.

Baldwin has worked for Grovetown for three years and is a longtime public works employee for Harlem, Columbia County and Thomson. The lifelong Harlem resident and volunteer firefighter for that city said he also hopes to volunteer for the Newton County Fire Department.