Latest News, Preston County

PSD 1 line flushing may affect personal water lines

KINGWOOD — Public Service District 1 is flushing lines to eliminate material that has collected in them, PSD 1 Operator Danny Layton said this week.

That’s pushing some of the dirt and other material from low-lying loops in the line into people’s water lines. The bulk of the problem was along W.Va. 92 from Reedsville to S Road, Layton said.

“And the plant is still producing great water. We have no manganese, no iron,” he said. “What’s out there has been there.”

Layton urged the district’s approximately 1,670 customers to sign up for the WENS alert system through Preston 911. The district alerts customers through WENS when flushing will be done. There are too many customers to call individually, he said.

WENS — the Wireless Emergency Notification System — is free and can send messages by texts, email or voice. To sign up go to preston911.com and follow the link.

Layton also asked anyone who has issues with water quality to call the PSD 1 office at 304-864-3014. Social media posts aren’t always responded to, he said.

Work continues to complete the new dam that will restore the district’s primary water source, Layton said. The latest estimated time for substantial completion is mid-February.

Roads update

Also at Tuesday’s meeting, Commissioners Samantha Stone and Dave Price reported on their trip to Charleston Monday with the We Stand United for Better Roads Team.

Stone said, “It was a good experience.” They spoke with the governor and sat in the Senate chamber as Sens. Randy Smith, R-Tucker, and Dave Sypolt, R-Preston, introduced road bills.

Their time with the governor was brief, Stone said, but the group “had a great conversation” with Deputy Transportation Secretary Jimmy Wriston and Secretary Byrd White.

Wriston explained funding and what has been done to the roads, Stone said. The secretaries assured the group they are working on a more permanent road plan.

Price said they were “very, very adamant” that a lot of training is being done, some new equipment was bought and a new attitude is being taken toward patching.

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