Group Aims to Tie Water Preservation to Battlefield Conservation

On this West Virginia Morning, after the 2014 Elk River chemical spill in the Kanawha Valley, the West Virginia Rivers Coalition created the “Safe Water WV” initiative.

The idea is simple — to strengthen a community’s connection to their drinking water and encourage people to work together to better protect it. A couple years ago, Jefferson and Berkeley Counties decided to build off that initiative in a unique way — using the conservation of farmland and Civil War battlefields as a model for drinking water protection. Liz McCormick explains.

Also on today’s show, the West Virginia Division of Highways is providing nearly $180,000 to West Liberty University to determine the effects of construction activities on endangered crayfish. Glynis Board reports.

And a Kentucky-based coal company this week announced it’s filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. As Brittany Patterson reports, Blackhawk Mining says it does not expect its 2,800 employees in the Ohio Valley to be disrupted during the process.

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