Bud/Alpoca Water Woes Story Archives - Page 2 of 2 - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Meet a W.Va. Water Hero

Water donations from across the country have poured into Wyoming County since our original report. The folks in Bud and Alpoca were dealing with unpotable water, running a dark brown at times, months before the chemical spill in Charleston. Another donation arrived at Herndon Consolidated School Tuesday, but this time it from another elementary school in northern W.Va.

January 9 a chemical spill contaminated the water source for more than 300,000 customers in West Virginia’s capitol city and the surrounding area. A state of emergency was declared, the National Guard was called in to assist with water distribution, and donations arrived from groups across the country.

Around that same time, Sarah Haymond was teaching a lesson to her 3^rd grade class at Blackshere Elementary in Marion County. Haymond decided the best way to teach about community service, was to coordinate a water drive for the folks affected by the chemical spill.

The state of emergency is still in effect for nine counties but Haymond didn’t feel the need was as great. So she began looking for other places in W.Va. with a water need and that’s when she found the town of Bud.

About 500 people have been on a boil water advisory since September and it’s not a state of emergency. The Alpoca Water Works system is dated and without an operator. The owner is working to turn the utility over to the Eastern Wyoming County PSD but it’s not a simple sale.

While it’s worked out, residents seem to be caught in the middle; purchasing water for things like drinking, laundry, and cooking for about six months.

“I showed the students in my class the pictures that I found on the internet from the sinks and the waters and they couldn’t believe it,” she said. “For little kids it’s just something they don’t think about not having water.”

The third graders collected about 65 to 70 gallons of water. The shipment arrived at Herndon Consolidated School on Tuesday. The school has served as central drop off place for donations and residents to find relief.

MacKenci Fluharty is one of several Blackshere Elementary third grade students that contributed to the Bud water drive. Listen below as she shares what she learned from the project.

FluhartyWaterHero.MP3

Listen to Mackenzie Fluharty, a W.Va. third grader, read her lessons from the water drive.

Mackenzie Fluharty (right in blue shirt) along with her class was excited to help with the water drive.

State, Federal Reps. Respond to Wyoming Co. Water Woes

Congressman Nick Joe Rahall is looking into the water situation in Alpoca/Bud in Wyoming County.

The long-term fix, known as the Covel project, will bring a new transmission main to serve the Bud/Alpoca area. The Eastern Wyoming Public Service District (PSD), in partnership with the Wyoming County Commission, has taken steps to repair the existing water system.

The Covel project has nearly a $5.7 million price tag, all of which – except for $125,000 – is Abandoned Mine Land (AML) funding.

The money comes from a tax coal companies pay meant to help resolve public safety issues such as hazardous highwalls, or mining-impacted water resulting from mining before 1977. Such practices were established by the Surface Mining and Control Act and the creation of the Office of AML&R in 1981.

Rahall visited Herndon Consolidated School in Bud and the Pentecostal Church of God in Alpoca Friday to meet with residents and share the long term plans.

Short Term Solutions

State lawmakers are weighing in as well. Senator Mike Green is hoping to reassure folks on the Alpoca Water Works system that they are not being ignored by state government.

Green’s office sent out a release to share the work being done a state level to try and put an end to ‘bad water‘.

Last week, Senator Daniel Hall and I had a discussion with Adjutant General James Hoyer of the West Virginia National Guard regarding the water situation in the Bud/Alpoca area of Wyoming County. Last Friday, the General dispatched a water expert to the area to assess the situation and determine what help could be made available. While we await those results, I want to assure the people of Wyoming County that this issue isn't being ignored on the state level. This week I spoke with Chairman Mike Albert of the West Virginia Public Service Commission. During that conversation, Chairman Albert said that the PSC is close to issuing an order related to water service that would not only help the residents of the Bud/Alpoca areas but also Covel, Herndon, and Herndon Consolidated School. After the water problem is resolved at the source, the next step for the National Guard will be developing a process for flushing the lines because of the system's lack of hydrants. I want to stress to all of the citizens in Wyoming Counties – especially those affected by the present water issues – that you are not being ignored by your Government. "While the Charleston Water Crisis seems to be receiving the attention statewide, I will not allow your issue to be ignored. It is my hope that this issue, which has been going on for far too long, can be resolved sooner rather than later."

Customers in Bud and Alpoca, including Herndon Consolidated, have been on a boil water advisory for more than five months.

As we reported earlier this week, National Guard representatives met with Wyoming County Emergency Director Dean Meadows.

Meadows told West Virginia Public Broadcasting that, unfortunately, the residents are not experiencing an emergency.

"We don’t want to sound unsympathetic to the people of Bud," Meadows said. "We’re very sympathetic and we want them to know that we are doing all we can and I’m very appreciative of the attention that they are getting but to put them in an emergency situation where the state starts putting in water, who is going to bear that expense and where does it end when other communities are involved."

The Logan County PSD has been working to restor water quality to the system by adding chemicals to the water, installing flush valves, etc.

The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources says Alpoca Water Works has not filed a consumer confidence report in at least three years. Every community public water supply system that serves at least 25 residences year round or has 15 service connections must prepare and distribute a CCR once each year.

A Rural Community's Water System: An Emergent Emergency

Water donations from across the country are finding their way to West Virginia … still. But the Charleston area is not the only place where residents don’t feel safe to use the tap water. Residents in a community in Wyoming County have been purchasing drinking water since September.

Herndon Consolidated and residents in the surrounding communities have been buying their water for about five months. The community has been on a boil water advisory while ‘ownership issues’ are resolved and the aging water system is worked on.

Herndon Consolidated Principal Virginia Lusk showed public service officials the current condition of the water in the school last week.

Although the water is passing bacteria tests, the boil water advisory remains in effect. Students at Herndon Consolidated continue to use plastic silverware, and Alpoca and Bud residents purchase bottled drinking water and are limited to washing clothes on the days when the water is clear enough not to ruin their clothes.

“This phone rings all the time people wanting to collect water and donate water from different states far away,” Lusk said.

Lusk says since our first story aired a few weeks ago, groups across the country have reached out to help carry the financial burden that residents have carried for months.

Although most residents take pride in their ability to adapt to the situation, some are growing weary and worry about the possible health effects of bathing in brown water.

The ‘bad water’ has even caught the attention of Governor Earl Ray Tomblin. Wyoming County Emergency Service Director Dean Meadows says the National Guard visited the school last week to assess the situation. Meadows says the residents are not experiencing an emergency situation.

“We don’t want to sound unsympathetic to the people of Bud,” Meadows said. “We’re very sympathetic and we want them to know that we are doing all we can and I’m very appreciative of the attention that they are getting but to put them in an emergency situation where the state starts putting in water, who is going to bear that expense and where does it end when other communities are involved.”

In the meantime, Virginia Lusk says the school will continue to accept donations for the community until the boil water advisory is lifted. The community is encouraged to pick up water from the school.

Wyoming County Town Receives Needed Water Donation

A truckload of water was delivered to a school in Wyoming County Monday morning. The school and several communities served by Alpoca Water Works have been without usable water for almost five months.

Last week, we brought you the story about Herndon Consolidated and the surrounding communities.

Public Service officials are working to fix what they call a “dated” water system owned by a small private company. Residents in Alpoca, and Bud along with an elementary school, have been on a boil water advisory since September.

Principal Virginia Lusk told us she was contacted by a church in North Carolina the day our story aired. The church promised a truckload of clean water. Lusk tells us that on Monday, the Pleasant Ridge Baptist Church kept their word and brought 300 cases of bottled water.

Herndon Consolidated Principal Virginia Lusk (left) accepts water from Pastor Mitch Smith (center) and his church to pass out to residents like Mike Sandy (right).

Lusk says instead of using the water at the school, it was distributed to people in the community. She says the school is happy to accept any more donations to distribute to the community that remains in need.

The residents and school have been purchasing drinking water since September.

Wyoming Co. School Deals with Unusable Water

While hundreds of thousands of West Virginians are going on five days without water, a school in Wyoming County has not had usable water since September.

The flushing process is underway but without an upgraded system, Herndon Consolidated and those on the Alpoca Water Works lines will have to wait even longer for usable tap water.

“It’s awful because I mean the water is brown and no one wants to wash their hands in brown water,” fifth grader Martina Sizemore said.

Rather than the water system owner, a PSD is working to fix the problem. It’s complicated and involves two public service districts, a small company, and a NASCAR driver.

Alpoca Water Works is a small company that supplies the water to the school and other communities such as Alpoca, and Bud. In a message, owner Rhesa Shrewsbury admitted that the water is bad but said that it’s only been bad for a couple months. Shrewsbury says it’s because the company no longer employs, or “lost” the water operator.

William Baisden with the Logan County PSD says his district is working “in good faith” to fix the water the old and dated system. Logan has assisted Wyoming County with water problems since a devastating flood in 2001 nearly destroyed the region.

Gallons of water are regularly stored in the kitchen area.

Logan PSD is acting on behalf of the Eastern Wyoming PSD.

Shrewsbury says her family is in the process of selling the company. But Baisden says it’s not a simple sell and the parties are trying to work out “ownership issues”. He says Alpoca Water Works leased the land from coal companies until the property was purchased by Nascar driver Greg Biffle.

Biffle didn’t immediately return our request for comment.

In the meantime, teachers have tried to create a non-disruptive learning environment by always having bottled water and hand sanitizer in the classroom.

Principal Virginia Lusk is hoping the issue is resolved soon.

“The staff here works so hard and everybody has just made it go as smooth as they can to make this work and to keep the kids safety and the sanitary conditions for the kids,” she said.

Okey Mills has taught at the school for more than 15 years.

A water dispenser replaces the water fountain in the hall at Herndon Consolidated.

“I’m surprised that many of their parents and people in the community haven’t complained more,” he said.

The flushing process is underway but Logan PSD says it could still take weeks to completely flush the system. There are no hydrants in the district which can be used to drain systems.

So for now, and since September, each faucet is running and toilets are flushed often in an effort to reach usable water.