by Trish Rudder
An informal water and sewer line extension meeting took place last Wednesday, August 14 at the Morgan County Commission meeting room.
The meeting was set up with just a few days’ public notice to engage local residents who may be affected by a planned two-mile extension of public water and sewer down U.S. 522 south of Ridersville Cycle.
The Berkeley Springs Water Work and Warm Springs Public Service District – the public water system and public sewer system in Berkeley Springs – are working together with the Morgan County Commission to extend the utilities to more businesses and residences. Federal grant and American Recovery Plan funds are expected to pay for the majority of the project costs.
According to Bath Councilman Dave O’Connell, who chairs the Water Committee for the town, the meeting was to allow people to express their individual concerns.
“The number one concern was if they would be forced to tap into the water or sewer line. Tapping into the water system is always optional,” O’Connell wrote in an email last week.
And according to Bath Councilwoman Rebecca MacLeod, also a member of the Water Committee for the town who attended the meeting, some of the owners whose property is in the Right-of-Way for water and sewer lines and must be contacted for permission for construction said they had not been contacted for permission and were “hearing about this just now,” MacLeod wrote in an email.
“It was unclear for other attendees if they would be required to 1) hook up to sewer or 2) pay the minimum monthly charge. No one knew what distance from the main was required for this. The PSD board said they thought it was 300 feet,” Macleod reported.
West Virginia law does require certain properties to hook their wastewater system to a public sewer line if it becomes available within a certain distance of a home or business.
MacLeod said there were some comments for everyone to hear and then there were individual discussions, so she didn’t hear if the questions regarding Shirley Farm – a residential development on the east side of U.S. 522 in the area of the planned extension — were answered.
She said the County Commission and PSD board can provide more information about what was sent to potential customers.
“Some attendees expressed a desire for the water extension and spoke about the bad water quality that they now have from well water,” MacLeod said.
Other members of the public who were unable to attend the meeting because of obligations or short notice, said they had additional questions about the capacity of the Berkeley Springs water system to take on more customers. They questioned the impact on the springs which feed the water system if too many additional customers, including business or industrial users, started drawing water.
The Morgan County Commission has said it will assist the Town of Bath in identifying a secondary water source to supply the public water system.
Kate Shunney contributed to this story.
