The Morgantown Utility Board is putting together a flood-control study in response to flooding events in Morgantown in June and July.
The MUB Board of Directors gave General Manager Mike McNulty clearance to seek out an engineering firm for the task.
“This is beyond the scope of what we would do in-house,” McNulty said, explaining MUB has reached out to the area’s other MS4 entities — West Virginia University and the West Virginia Division of Highways — to ask for their participation.
According to the EPA, an MS4, or Municipal Separate Stormwater System, is a conveyance or system of conveyances that is owned by a state, city, town, village or other public entity designed or used to collect or convey stormwater that discharges to waters of the U.S.
McNulty said the DOH has indicated it is interested in participating and potentially in sharing some of the cost. He said WVU representatives said, “They would discuss it.”
Cost of the study won’t be negotiated until the scope of work is finalized and interviews are conducted.
In other MUB news, the utility’s water treatment plant was recently recognized by the West Virginia Rural Water Association as having the best-tasting water in West Virginia.
The plant has received a number of accolades in recent years from entities ranging from the Associated Press to the National Association of Clean Water Agencies, which recently bestowed a 20-year compliance award on the facility.
“The winning of this contest speaks volumes of the professionalism of our water treatment plant staff. It reflects well on the dedication and expertise that our staff bring to the job every day,” MUB Chairman JT Straface said.
Lastly, in a continuation of a COVID-related policy first implemented in 2020, the MUB board voted to allow the utility’s employees to hold onto additional unused vacation time.
MUB typically allows employees to carry a maximum of five unused vacation days from one year to the next. Due to the viral disruptions to vacations, MUB employees will be permitted to roll up to 10 vacation days over into 2022.
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