KINGWOOD — Amid complaints about water quality, utility reps from Public Service District 1 will be at next week’s Preston County Commission meeting.
This comes as the water system falls under scrutiny from customers unhappy with the water they’re receiving from a temporary source the PSD is relying on while the dam is improved.
Brian Farkas, executive director of the West Virginia Conservation Agency, said Monday the dam project should be finished this year.
“It was supposed to have been completed last year, but last year was not a very good year for construction because of all the rain,” Farkas said. “So we’re hoping that it will be completed by this fall.”
Commission President Dave Price asked about confidence in the timeline, and Farkas replied: “We’re pretty optimistic about that.”
Work started in August 2018 for the government-mandated, $7.8 million project to replace the 50-year-old dam on Stony Run Road.
Water is being taken from a temporary source — called Impoundment 6, more commonly known as the Fairfax Ponds, on W.Va. 92. Customers have posted photos of tea-colored water on social media and complained about odor and taste.
In a Facebook post accompanying a picture of the water in her home, Arthurdale resident Samantha Sheets said, “Really? Would you let your kids drink this? My dog won’t even drink it. We also get notices in the mail about it failing standards and it containing agents that may cause cancer if consuming for long periods of time, but ‘it is safe to drink.’ This is unacceptable.”
“If customers call and notify us, we will flush their system; but we need to know that there are issues first,” said PSD 1 manager Dan Layton. “I am not happy about this water. I would be upset too. I want people to understand that we are doing the best we can with this source.”
He said those who are attempting to flush the dirty water themselves should let only the cold water in their homes run for several minutes.
“You don’t want to pull dirty water into the hot water tank,” Layton said. “If it doesn’t clear up in five minutes, call us. Actually, call us either way.”
Commissioner Samantha Stone said the county is taking many complaints about the quality of PSD 1 water.
“You might live in one house in Reedsville, if you’re a PSD 1 customer, and your water is fine, and your neighbor’s water might looks like mud. It has an odor. The smell is something they can’t get past,” Stone said. “The tests are saying the water is safe.”
She said the district is aware of the complaints. Stone read a letter from Rodney Liston of the PSD 1 Board of Directors.
In it, Liston said Impoundment 6 has more “organic matter (algae),” than the water from the district’s primary source.
“Treating the organic matter and producing a quality finished water product has led to a slight discoloration issue,” Liston wrote. The State Health Department has performed independent tests of the water and found it safe but, “not aesthetically pleasing,” he said.
Liston said PSD 1 recently did a full flush of the system in an effort to reduce the discoloration. According to a letter sent out to customers, that was done in part to help lower the annual average maximum contaminant level of trihalomethanes.
There is no immediate danger from the levels, according to the district’s letter. According to the National Institutes of Health, “Trihalomethanes (THMs) are the result of a reaction between the chlorine used for disinfecting tap water and natural organic matter in the water.”
Liston urged residents to call the health department at 304-368-2530 or the PSD at 304-864-3014 or stop by the PSD office to report water problems.
The Dominion Post reported in September 2018 that the water contained manganese, which could discolor the water, but the State Health Department said it was not at dangerous levels.
In addition to creating 10 feet of water for the district to draw from, which is about double what it had, a compacted concrete spillway and new riser will be constructed at the dam.
Farkas also asked commissioners to sign a new agreement with the agency. The county contributes $3,000 annually to the Upper Deckers Creek Watershed, which oversees the dams.
All those in Upper Deckers Creek in Preston are flood control dams and considered, “high hazard,” meaning if they failed, there would be significant loss of life and property.
A total of $15,000 will be spent on other dams in the county this year, Farkas said.
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