Published: November 09, 2009 04:51 pm      

Long wait for water — Help on the way for McDowell families

If all goes as planned, the water should be turned on this month for another 200 families in McDowell County, as well as at the site of the new River View High School in Bradshaw.

The completion of phase II of the long-planned Jolo to Paynesville Water Extension Project is a significant accomplishment for the McDowell County Public Service District, and paves the way for the start of construction on phases II and III of the critically needed project, which will bring water to more than 400 families living on Bradshaw Mountain. These families are facing an urgent need for clean drinking water, and have been actively involved in the struggle to bring the system to Bradshaw Mountain.

The PSD hopes to turn the water on for customers in the phase II service area around Nov. 16.

Phase two of the project extends along Route 83 and Route 635, and will serve residents all the way from Jolo to the bottom of Bradshaw Mountain, including the new River View High School currently under construction near Bradshaw.

The third and fourth phases of the project — funded together through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 — will extend public drinking water all the way to the top of Bradshaw Mountain. Specifically, phases three and four will extend public drinking water to portions of Bradshaw Mountain, Rock Ridge, Jackson Flats, Paynesville, State Line Ridge and the Estep Ridge areas. The remaining two phases of the project will serve another 480 customers. In addition to the federal stimulus dollars, the project also is receiving funding through the Rural Utilities Service and the Abandoned Mine Lands agency.

PSD representatives are expected to begin going door-to-door in the coming days to customers in the phase II service area to complete a mandatory cross connection inspection. The inspection ensures a separation between well water connections and the new PSD connection, according to PSD Director Mavis Brewster.

Construction on phases three and four of the project could begin by late summer or early fall of next year.

We eagerly await the start of construction on phases three and four. Residents of Bradshaw Mountain have had to wait far too longer for clean, safe drinking water. In the meantime, we are encouraged by the completion of phase II, and are glad to hear that water will soon flow to another 200 families in McDowell County, as well as the new high school.

The PSD also is working on a number of other important projects for McDowell County, including the Coalwood sewer project and the Coalwood Connector project, which will bring drinking water from the Harman Branch area outside of Iaeger up Route 52 through Clear Fork Junction and Wilmore. It will provide the communities, and residents of Iaeger, with water from the existing Coalwood water plants.

The various water and sewer needs across McDowell County are great. We applaud the PSD, and the various state and federal funding agencies, for addressing several of these critical needs.

Although this is a great start, there is still much more work to be done to bring modern infrastructure to families across McDowell County. More help will be needed from our lawmakers in Washington to ensure that no family in southern West Virginia — and McDowell County in particular — is forced to live without a reliable and safe source of public drinking water.