Emily Allen Published

West Virginia American Water Takeover Of Former Page-Kincaid District Nearly Complete

This is a water line being flushed out, which West Virginia American Water was connecting customers to its New River water treatment plant in the town of Beckwith.

Customers formerly served by a locally run public service district in western Fayette County will now have their water needs met by a new provider — West Virginia America Water.

By contrast, West Virginia American Water is one of the state’s largest regulated utilities. The company technically took over the 650-customer area in September, when it began replacing equipment and connecting customers to its New River treatment site in the town of Beckwith.

Since then, the company also had been flushing out water lines and providing treated water to customers in phases.

West Virginia American Water likely will continue flushing out water lines for some customers into the new year. The PSC said on Wednesday that the company will inform customers of related outages until then.

The PSC began publicly pushing for this takeover in late July, months after initiating an investigation into the area’s former provider — the Page-Kincaid Public Service District.

This small, locally owned and run utility first opened in the 1970s, according to one of its board members.

Customers began petitioning the PSC and local officials to take action against Page Kincaid in 2019, with a 400-signature petition and a public hearing that October. Customers brought plastic containers of brown water to the hearing to demonstrate poor quality and service.

Emily Allen is a Report for America corps member.