KINGWOOD – PSD No. 1 plant manager Danny Layton asked Preston County commissioners to consider the PSD for $633,000 to upgrade the water treatment plant and about 3,500 feet of water line along W.Va. 7, between Reedsville and Masontown.
The current 4-inch water line would be replaced with 6-inch water line and would provide more reliable pressures and fire flow availability to the customers in this area.
In his request, Layton said the funds were inclusive of engineering and construction but exclusive of project administration, accounting and legal fees.
If approved, money for the project would come from the estimated $6.5 million dollars in stimulus funding under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 the county is set to receive.
“We just completed a project that took two years,” Layton told commissioners. “We had to borrow a lot of money. If any work is needed I can’t borrow more for at least four years, when some of the borrowed money is paid off.”
According to the proposal from Thresher Engineering, upgrades to the water treatment plant will include an additional settling pond to reduce the potential for future NPDES permit compliance violations.
The existing water treatment plant relies on two settlement ponds to meet compliance. The number of customers has increased such that even with both ponds in operation, compliance with the NPDES permit is difficult.
The U.S. Clean Water Act prohibits anybody from discharging pollutants from a point source into the waters of the United States, unless they have an EPA-issued permit.
“Our area is expanding,” Layton said. “In three months we added 10 new taps. We know Morgantown housing is moving toward Preston County. And we’ve lost a few potential businesses.”
Layton said one loss was a large housing project the current water system couldn’t support.
“We need new businesses,” he said. “But the infrastructure is just not there to handle it.”
Ashbee Sykes, project engineer for Thrasher Engineering, said the $633,000 funding would provide upgrading with support for future growth.
TWEET@DominionPostWV
