Your browser doesn't support audio playback.
Communities struggling to provide clean drinking water to their residents will get financial and practical help, Gov. Patrick Morrisey announced Wednesday.
“We’re announcing that we’re gonna be putting fresh money, new money, of a minimum of $145 million,” Morrisey said during a press conference in Beckley. “We’re going to help the small water systems to get technical assistance that they need.”
The funds are the latest result of his four-county, two day “water listening tour” earlier this month. The money will come in the form of grants and low-interest loans for water and wastewater infrastructure projects in the coming year, Morrisey said.
As part of a new “Clean, Clear Water Strategy,” the state is partnering with Marshall University, West Virginia University and 11 regional planning and development councils to help understaffed water systems.
The strategy also includes:
● Faster project oversight: Projects under binding commitment will move to 60-day reviews, with a public dashboard tracking applications and projects.
● Funding based on need: The state will work to ensure communities facing failing systems, boil-water orders, public health concerns, and financial distress receive greater consideration.
● Modernized utility laws: The administration will work with the legislature to cut outdated paperwork and give struggling utilities better tools to share resources and work together.
● Public accountability: West Virginia will report miles of water line built or repaired, treatment facilities upgraded, and homes and businesses receiving new or improved service.
The process will be public and easy to track, Morrisey said. The technical assistance, he said, was designed to help those communities who realize they need to make improvements but don’t have the expertise to do the surveying, engineering and preparatory work that is required to access support.
“Well, that changes today,” Morrisey said.
Coupled with public, private and federal matching funds, he said, the $145 million his office is committing could leverage another $450 million to address clean water challenges across the state.