At the legislature today, Senators reconsider a vote that killed one of the Republican majority’s legal reform bills. That bill now makes its way to the House and a special report on the state of water infrastructure in southern West Virginia on The Legislature Today.
Tag: Bud/Alpoca Water Woes
Water Outages and Advisories Continue in W.Va. Coalfields
While the chemical spill in Charleston left more than 300,000 without usable water, it’s a problem that folks in the coalfields deal with on a regular basis.
Mountainous regions like southern West Virginia have an abundance of water, but the terrain along with aging infrastructure create challenges, just as it has for decades.
Many of the current water systems in place today in the coalfields were installed in the early 1900’s by coal companies. The coal operators, jobs, and most people left the area, leaving remnants behind of a once bustling economy. Remnants like some beautiful buildings, coal tipples …and water systems.
For some communities a boil water advisory is a way of life … like in Keystone in McDowell County where residents have been on advisory since 2010. Neighboring sister city of Northfork has been on a boil water advisory since 2013. The water systems are currently maintained and operated by individual towns, but the McDowell County Public Service District is planning projects to take on those responsibilities.
Elkhorn Water Project
Just this past year, a project with several phases started that is expected to bring relief to the region.
Phase I of the “Elkhorn Water Project” will bring a new water system to Elkhorn, Maybeurry and Switchback. Phase II will replace systems in Elkhorn, Keystone and Northfork and Phase III will upgrade systems in Landgraff, Tidewater, Divian, Kimball.
Credit Daniel Walker
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Phase I broke ground this year and is expected to be complete in June. Executive Director of the McDowell County PSD Mavis Brewster says she’s happy with the progress. She says the second phase has not yet been funded. That’s where Betty Younger lives.
Betty Younger: Times have Changed
A coal miner’s daughter, Betty Younger grew up in McDowell County and remembers a very different community during the 1950’s. Younger sits on her front porch which sits close to route 5–a road busy with coal trucks. She reminisces about her days in the Kyle coal camp.
Like so many coal-dependent communities, McDowell has suffered the boom and bust of the industry, and the sharp population decline that comes with it. In the 1950’s there were more than 100-thousand people. Today less 20-thousand remain in the county.
“This part of McDowell County is… I mean there’s nothing here,” Younger said.
Younger has lived in her Elkhorn homes for about six years. There have been so many water issues… she just assumes not to drink it, rarely uses it for cooking, and doesn’t even count on regular access.
“You never know when you’re going to have water,” Younger said.
Phase II will also replace systems in Northfork and Keystone. Folks in Keystone have been on a boil water advisory since 2010, while Northfork has been under an advisory since 2013.
Credit Daniel Walker
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When all three phases are complete, the project will replace the system that Younger and other residents currently rely on. Phase I will replace a leaky, rusty, tank that is believed to date back to the 1940’s when it was set up by coal companies.
Credit Jessica Lilly
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Officials Celebrate New Step Towards Consistant Safe Water in Wyoming Co.
A ceremony celebrating the effort to ensure quality drinking water for a community in Southern West Virginia was hosted on Tuesday.
The ceremony marked a milestone for the Bud/Alpoca Water System Upgrade Project. The upgrade ensures that an estimated 170 residential and commercial customers in the communities of Bud and Alpoca, in Wyoming County will have safe drinking water.
The project was awarded $520,000 through the Army Corps Sec 340 Southern West Virginia Infrastructure Program. The Section 340 program has helped to provide residents across southern West Virginia with modern water and wastewater systems.
The project comes after residents went months on a boil water advisory. A complicated business deal that took more than five years contributed to the 7-month-long boil advisory. The state public service commission approved the acquisition sale of Alpoca Water to the PSD in April of this year.
Wyoming, McDowell Water Projects Get Federal Dollars
Federal dollars are expected to speed water and wastewater projects in communities in Wyoming and McDowell Counties. Congressman Nick Rahall made the announcement Tuesday.
According to a press release, more than $1.1 million in federal funds will replace failing water systems and extend clean water to nearly 700 residential and small commercial customers in McDowell and Wyoming Counties.
In Wyoming County the money will help to replace a failing water system that serves the Bud/Alpoca area of Wyoming County. The Logan County Public Service District will receive just over 500 thousand dollars for the Bud/Alpoca Water System Upgrade Project.
A boil water advisory was recently lifted after being in effect for more than 7 months in this area. More than 170 customers in the Bud/Alpoca area of Wyoming County including an elementary school lived with water running different shades of brown.
Credit Jessica Lilly / West Virginia Public Broadcasting
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West Virginia Public Broadcasting
The McDowell County Public Service District will receive about 600 thousand dollars to complete the funding needed for the Big Sandy Water Project, which is extending water service to approximately 500 customers in the Big Sandy and Roderfield areas of McDowell County. This funding comes on top of a 600 thousand dollar grant that Rahall announced in 2012.
Rahall is the top Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee with jurisdiction over the Army Corps of Engineers and its Sec. 340 Environmental Assistance Program that awarded this funding. The Corps of Engineers funding will help advance a permanent solution to the area’s burdensome water issues.
In the release Rahall said that “clean drinking water equals better health for families as well as our economy.”
After Months Without, Wyoming County Community Gets Safe Water
After months without access to safe water, representatives with the Department of Health and Human Resources say the boil water advisory has been lifted in a Wyoming County community.
Folks in Alpoca/Bud including Herndon Consolidated School have been on a boil water advisory since September 2013 with water running a dark brown at times. The boil water advisory was issued because of the color and because the system did not have a certified water operator.
Residents had been purchasing drinking water and finding alternative locations for washing clothes. The community found some relief in the past few months with donations from groups and individuals from across the country.
Now relief comes to their homes as the advisory was lifted earlier this week after an operator was designated, and after the water cleared and passed a bacteria test.
“We are relieved that the boil water advisory is over," Herndon Consolidated School Principal Virginia Lusk said. "It’s been a lot of additional work on the staff."
"It’s going to be a relief to be back to normal and not have to carry water and be able to use the fountain and we’re just happy that it’s going to be over now.”
In an email, Allison Adler with DHHR said that the Logan County PSD replaced and repaired components in the filter, for a second time.
Logan County PSD does all of the operation and maintenance for the Eastern Wyoming PSD.
A business deal with owners of Alpoca Water Works and the Eastern Wyoming County PSD contributed to the 7-month-long boil advisory. The state public service commission approved the acquisition sale of Alpoca Water to the PSD late last month.
The deal was a complicated one. It took cooperation with current land owners which just so happened to be a NASCAR driver Greg Biffle, as well as Alpoca Water owners, a nearby willing public water utility, and the state PSC. All parties had to be coordinated in order to work out the details so residents can have clean water.
The PSC first approved the deal in 2009.
Updated Thursday, April 24, 2014 at 4:09 p.m.:
West Virginia State Senator Mike Green issued the following statement after Department of Health and Human Resources representatives lifted the boil water advisory in the Bud/Alpoca area of Wyoming County.
“After more than six months, residents in the Bud/Alpoca area now have the clean water they deserve. In this day and age, all people in West Virginia should have access to clean drinkable water. I commend the West Virginia Public Service Commission for marshaling the effort it took to work out the details between land owners, public service districts, and utilities to bring this crisis to an end. I also want to thank General Jim Hoyer and the West Virginia National Guard for its quick response in regards to my request for assistance during this unfortunate time.” “I know the Charleston water crisis made national headlines, but the scope and duration of this event affected the residents of Wyoming County as much or more than the Elk River situation.”
State Public Service Commission Pushing Alpoca Water Deal
The West Virginia Public Service Commission is just days away from issuing a final order that is expected to bring some folks in Wyoming County closer to clean water. Folks in Alpoca and Bud including Herndon Consolidated School have been on a boil water advisory since September with water running a dark brown at times.
Part of the holdup has been a business deal with the current owners and the Eastern Wyoming County Public Service District. Public Service Commission orders issued this week are helping to move the sale along.
On Monday the state PSC approved the acquisition sale of Alpoca Water Works, Inc., to the Eastern Wyoming Public Service District. Alpoca Water Works is a small local company that supplies water to about 170 customers.
The current system is old, and outdated. Still according to PSC documents, the Commission approved the Eastern Wyoming PSD borrowing $250,000 for the purchase and system modifications.
The latest order indicates that the PSC is trying to push this transition by waiving the usual next step; a 30 day public comment period.
The final order is expected within the next few days but that’s not the end of water woe’s for these small Wyoming County towns.
The Eastern Wyoming PSD is seeking the above mentioned loan from the West Virginia Infrastructure and Jobs Development Council. The funding needs to be secured before a project to either repair or replace the existing system can begin to take place.
The order also indicates that this is the second time that “the Commission approved the transfer of all the utility assets of Alpoca to the PSD”. The first approval came in 2009 but never happened due to the rate structure.
This past fall, three years and 9 months later, Alpoca Water and Eastern Wyoming petitioned the commission to reopen the case.
The deal between the Eastern Wyoming County PSD and Alpoca Water Works is expected to be completed by the end of March.
Logan County PSD does all the operation and maintenance for the Eastern Wyoming PSD. Logan PSD has worked to fix the filter, installed three flush valves, and other things to improve the quality.
The long-term fix is to hook up to Eastern Wyoming PSD which will allow the Bud/Alpoca area access to clean and reliable drinking water.
Logan County PSD does all the Operation and Maintenance for the Eastern Wyoming PSD.