Caroline MacGregor Published

PSC Investigates Water Outages At Mt. Olive Prison

A line of jail cells.Lettas/Adobe Stock

The Public Service Commission (PSC) is investigating why the Mt. Olive Correctional Complex doesn’t have reliable water. 

The PSC will hold a hearing on June 1 to establish whether the Gauley River Public Service District is a distressed or failing utility.

It follows an ongoing investigation of interruptions in water service to the prison.

PSC Chairman Charlotte Lane called it “a matter of basic human necessity and public safety” that the state’s largest prison correctional complex has access to a reliable water service. 

“The Public Service Commission is dedicated to doing everything we can to ensure all West Virginians have safe, reliable and affordable water and sewer service,” Lane said. “Identifying and assisting the distressed and failing utilities in the state is a critical piece of that mission.”

In addition to the Gauley River PSD, the investigation includes Kanawha Falls Public Service District, West Virginia American Water Company, the City of Summersville and the Consumer Advocate Division.

The full procedural schedule and documents filed in this case can be found on www.psc.state.wv.us by referencing Case No. 22-0456-PWD-DU.

The hearing will be held at 10 a.m. on June 1 at the Gauley Bridge Town Hall.