by Kate Evans
The West Virginia Infrastructure and Jobs Development Council recently approved a $2 million grant for two sewer system improvement projects in the Town of Paw Paw. They will include improvements to the municipal wastewater treatment plant and the replacement and repair of sewer pipes in the southern end of town. $1 million of the funding is for the wastewater treatment plant project and $1 million is for sewer pipe project.
The state infrastructure agency announced the funding at its August 2 meeting. T
he $2 million grant to the Town of Paw Paw along with funds from the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, town and other funding programs, provide $6.1 million for the two Paw Paw municipal sewer projects, according to a press release.
Project cost
Phase 1, the wastewater treatment plant improvements, is estimated to cost $3,110,000 and Phase 2, the sewer line replacement/repair phase, is expected to cost $2,581,500, said John Cole, RK&K Engineering municipal engineering manager, who is overseeing the project. The total current approximate sewer project cost is $5,691,500.
The Town of Paw Paw was encouraged to split their sewer system improvements project into two projects to maximize grant funding for the project.
Cole said they won’t know the exact cost until they open the bids from the contractors. The project will hopefully go out to bid by December with the work to begin in the spring. There is some contingency funding built into the project. Cole noted that he has seen some stabilization of prices for materials and delivery times in the marketplace.
The design phase of the project has been finished and paperwork that needs to be filed with the Public Service Commission should be submitted by the end of August, he said.
The influx and infiltration (I & I) study was done previously to determine where where the extraneous water flow/rain runoff is coming into the sewer pipe collection system. The influx and infiltration study determined the need for replacing and repairing the existing sewer lines on the southern end of town.
Cole said that the Town of Paw Paw “is pretty excited to get this project moving forward.”
Sewer pipe work area
Paw Paw Town Clerk Ron Davis said that the southern end of town where the Phase 2 sewer pipe replacement/refurbishment work will take place is from the railroad tracks toward Berkeley Springs and includes the school, the library and the fire hall. The northern end of Paw Paw is from the railroad tracks to the Liberty Store.
The Phase 1 work will be upgrading components and improving the wastewater pumping station operation and the lagoon, Davis said. Different piping will be installed and a couple of buildings will also be rehabilitated.
No rate increase expected
Davis said that no water and sewer rate increases are expected now. There was a water and sewer rate increase around 2020 when the project was getting started.
Davis said that he was looking forward to seeing the project begin. Cole said that the project involves around 10 months of construction.
