Water in the Coalfields Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

What Does it Take to Build New Water Systems in the Coalfields?

This week, we’ve been talking about water in the coalfields. We met folks that deal with frequent water outages and boil water advisories because of crumbling water systems, and heard stories of folks living with no water source at all. We also learned that proper sewage disposal is still a challenge.

Progress has been made. Just this past year, the Elkhorn Water Project began. It’s expected to bring clean water to folks living in several coal camp communities along Route 52 in McDowell County. A project in Wyoming County is expected to bring a permanent solution to water issues in Bud and Alpoca.

So what does it take to build a new water utility in West Virginia? Well, apparently it’s complicated and depends on the scenario but here’s a breakdown.

Let’s say a community would like to get hooked up to a neighboring water system.

The community would file a formal petition to the closest utility which would fill out an application, which I’m told, isn’t as simple as it sounds.

If they’re requesting funding from the state, the utility has to go through the infrastructure and jobs development council.

Part of the process involves surveys to see if the community wants access to public water. Goode has worked on several water projects in the region during his 30 year tenure as an elected official and explains how surveys can complicate the situation, as they did in Hanover.

Goode says the project hit roadblocks like a lack of funding, which in turn meant they had to resurvey the population, more roadblocks, another survey.

Now the people are at the point where they’re just not willing to fill out any more surveys.

Once again, it’s a unique situation.

Then there’s Coal Mountain. We heard about this earlier in our series. The community depends on a gas tank on top of a hill that feeds water hoses into another holding tank.

“It’s too far removed to run a water line from another system,” he said. “They do qualify for some Abandoned Mine Lands available but it’s not enough to do what needs to be done.”

That’s usually the biggest challenge; money. It can come from a variety of different sources. Several communities in the coalfields have benefited from Abandoned Mine Land money. It’s federal funds provided by a tax on coal companies.

The money is used to repair damages done by coal companies prior to 1977, when Congress enacted the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act. But there’s not enough money to fix even the “high priority health and safety related” sites which are things like unsealed mines or unstable hillsides, let alone several new water systems.

Shane Whitehair with the Regional Planning and Development Council says that another popular souce comes from Small Cities Block Grants. He says that fund usually has about $13 million for new projects. He says the requested funds for water and sewer alone is usually between $60 to $80 million.

So, getting water to rural places through these conventional means is just expensive and sometimes the the Public Service Commission says the residents can’t afford to pay the inevitable utility bill.

It’s often a challenge to find a way to bring water into rural homes, but Goode points out, it’s not impossible. The most important part, is community interest.

Goode is retiring after this term. After more than 30 years of walking miles of red tape, and navigating bureaucratic mazes he says water is fundamental. Working to provide his community with cleaner, reliable water has been the most rewarding aspect of his work.

Still, he’d like to see the process simplified and perhaps a central entity that handles critical water infrastructure.

Part II: Is There Something in the Water, Southern W.Va.?

For all of the concerns about water compromised by natural and industrial sources (and the cancer, decay, infection, and disease that can come with that contamination), director of the West Virginia Water Research Institute, Paul Ziemkiewicz said the biggest threat in water supplies in southern West Virginia (and many areas in the state) by a long shot is raw sewage.

“Any contaminant you can think of pales in comparison to raw, untreated sewage,” Ziemkiewicz said.

We’re talking about bacteria, parasites, and viruses that can cause short-term problems like diarrhea, eye infections, respiratory infection, and long-term problems like cancer, Dementia, and diabetes. And there are growing concerns about potential illnesses or effects from exposure to pharmaceuticals and synthetic hormones introduced through sewage.

Straight Pipes

Maggie Nevi is the Project Coordinator for the Waste Water Treatment Coalition in McDowell County. The coalition’s main objective is to end the practice of straight piping:

“Right now 67 percent of the county has no form of waste water treatment whatsoever. And they do what’s called straight-piping which is exactly what it sounds like.”

Straight Piping: some PVC pipe runs every drain (sink, shower, tub, washing machine, and toilet) straight into the creek.

Tourism?

The idea behind Waste Water Treatment Coalition in McDowell County is to improve the health and well-being of the people who live in McDowell County of course, but also for people who want to visit the area. Nevi explains how the county has benefited from state investments, (with the Hatfield and McCoy Trail system, for example) but Nevi says right now, ATV enthusiasts that visit should be concerned.

“They pretty-much could be riding through raw sewage, depending on the area that they are in,” Nevi said.

Nevi worries about eye, ear, nose, and throat infections, especially for ATV riders who splash through creeks without helmets or goggles.

Wetlands

The Waste Water Treatment Coalition is taking steps to mitigate some areas of concern. In the small community Ashland, for example, they established a wetland which absorbs and cleans up a lot of crap.

Nevi explains, the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection’s acceptable rate for fecal coliform per mL of water is 200 parts per mL. In Ashland, before the wetland, the organization was finding 200,000 parts per mL. (Fecal coliform is an indicator that sewage is present in water…)

Public Health Crisis

At the WV Water Research Institute, Director Paul Ziemkiewicz says 67 percent of homes in McDowell County not having a sewage treatment… is a public health crisis.

He explains that many of the pathogens you might encounter can be killed off by boiling water but…

“You don’t boil water to take a shower. The kids play in the little plastic pool out back. Are you boiling all that water, too? People drink this stuff they get in contact with it, they’re washing their faces with it,” Ziemkiewicz said, “and that’s bad stuff!”

In fact, whenever Ziemkiewicz or any researchers from his organization study water in the area, he requires inoculations for Hepatitis B and A.

Water Studies

Meanwhile water studies are underway. West Virginia University’s School of Public Health is currently studying water samples from throughout southern West Virginia in an effort to grasp a finer understanding of chronic and acute problems the community faces with water supply issues.

But to be clear—these problems might exist in southern West Virginia to a larger degree, but raw sewage, naturally occurring manganese, and industrial impairment are problems that exist all through the state and region.

Public health expert from WVU, Michael McCawley said it falls on not only citizens within southern counties to be educated about risks and searching and moving toward solutions, but all citizens throughout this state, and the region.

Part I: Is There Something in the Water, Southern W.Va.?

In an ongoing look at water infrastructure challenges in the southern region of West Virginia, we consider possible health effects of long-term exposure to contaminated water sources. First: the health impacts of industrial contamination, as well as naturally occurring pollutants.

Southern West Virginia is home to some of the worst health disparities in the country. Recent studies show folks in McDowell County, for example, have the shortest life expectancies in the country; it’s the 6th poorest county in the US.

The question ever is: Why?

Interim Chair of the Department of Occupational and Environmental Health Sciences at WVU’s School of Public Health, Dr. Michael McCawley says, all roads lead back to socio-economic status, and lack of economic opportunity. Science these days is full of research that studies how cycles of poverty and stress, and feeling like you have no choices in life, leads consistently to poor health, and shorter life spans. Pin-pointing what exactly makes someone ill, though, is almost impossible, McCawley says, because life is so complicated. But he says long term exposure to compromised water… is bound to leave a mark.

“That’s going to cause infectious disease, gastrointestinal problems, and that can lead to all sorts of other things,” McCawley said.

Industrial Contamination

An aquatic biologist from Wheeling Jesuit University, Dr. Ben Stout, found himself invested in water quality issues in southern West Virginia when he began looking into ecological impacts of Mountaintop Removal over a decade ago. Stout began looking specifically at stream impairment in areas where dirt and land from the tops of ridges were pushed into valleys.

“It was pretty obvious to me that below valley fills, water was pretty tainted, and then it became a question of, ‘Is it getting into the human water supply?’” Stout said. “I started sampling people’s houses; some people’s water is really good, other people’s water is really appalling.”

Stout has tested for and found water spiked with heavy metals and other contaminants.

“Before it’s disturbed it’s a good of water you’re going to find anywhere on the planet. But after that it becomes tainted with heavy metals and bacteria and so forth and becomes unusable except that these people don’t have any recourse,” Stout said.

It’s been widely reported that industrial activity has contaminated community water supplies throughout the state.

Naturally Occurring Pollutants

But aside from industrial activity, Stout points out that naturally occurring minerals and metals (like manganese) can themselves be a cause of serious concern—contaminants that leach naturally from the geology of the region. The effect of manganese specifically hasn’t been investigated thoroughly, but a 2010 drinking water study found that “exposure to manganese at levels common in groundwater is associated with intellectual impairment in children.”

And Stout explained, it’s not easy to get dissolved metals out of water.

“Heavy metals don’t turn into anything else when you boil them,” Stout said. “Mercury stays mercury, and aluminum stays aluminum.”

Stout said over a period of time, people exposed to these contaminants through a variety of pathways such as drinking or showers become ill.

But for all of the concerns about water compromised by natural and industrial sources, and the cancer, decay, infection, and disease that can come with regular exposure to that contamination, many experts agree that the biggest threat in water supplies throughout southern West Virginia (and many areas in the state) and by a long shot is raw sewage.

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.

Elkhorn Water Project broke ground summer 2014.

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.

Elkhorn water tower believed to be at least 60 years old.

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.