by Kate Evans
The Town of Paw Paw’s water system project has been moving forward since it received a $1 million grant last year for water system improvements.
The $1 million grant, along with monies from the Drinking Water Treatment Revolving Fund, provide $3.75 million for the project.
John Cole, RK&K Engineering municipal engineering manager, is overseeing the project. He said that the Town of Paw Paw is replacing a lot of water mains and doing water treatment improvements.
The town will be drilling a new well on Winchester Street across from town hall and will also be building a new water treatment plant, he said. They want to change from taking Potomac River water and treating it to using groundwater and treating it.
The design work is complete for the water system project and they’re presently working on getting permits. Cole said that a lot of the equipment at the old water treatment plant is aging and becoming obsolete and needs to be replaced. That will take place when they build the new treatment plant, which will replace the existing plant.
They still plan to replace the remainder of the water distribution system, which is leaking. Cole said he hoped to get the project advertised for bids and start construction by late summer or early fall this year.
The second phase is more about distribution, tank rehabilitation work pending availability of funding.
Cole said they’re waiting on additional funding for the distribution pipe replacements. He hopes to have the project underway in a couple of years
Sewer project wrapping up
Cole also said that work will be wrapping up on the Paw Paw sewer system project soon. He has also been overseeing the project’s progress since it began in 2020.
All pipe replacement should be finished this month and the repaving work should be done in April. Work at the treatment plant should also be done this month. Punch list items will be completed in April, he said.
There are two separate sewer system contracts, Cole noted. A contract for the wastewater treatment plant and pump station improvements was awarded to Ferri Contracting from Canonsburg, Pennsylvania for around $1.9 million, Cole said.
The company improved the air system in the sewage lagoon and changed out the barscreen at the pump station, which collects debris and keeps it from getting in the lagoon, he said. They also dredged solids from the lagoon, rehabilitated a couple of buildings and installed different piping.
The other contract is for replacing sewer pipes in the collection system in certain areas of town, Cole said. That contract was awarded to Carl Belt of Cumberland for $2.5 million. The total cost of the sewer improvement project is $4.4 million.
Funding for the project includes $2 million from the West Virginia Infrastructure and Jobs Development Council, a $1.85 million West Virginia Water Development Authority Economic Enhancement Grant, $25,000 from the Town of Paw Paw’s American Rescue Plan funding and the balance from the Department of Environmental Protection’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund, Cole said.
The southern end of town where the sewer pipe replacement work took place is south of the railroad tracks toward Berkeley Springs and includes the school, the library and the fire hall.
Water pressure problems
Cole said that there had been some issues with water leaks and water pressure during the work. Contractors hit some lines as they were doing pipe replacements but the leaks were resolved as they occurred. The pipe replacement work will be finishing up next week.
