Letters to the editor May 27

MUB needs to slow down
on new pipeline’s path
Based on the information disclosed at the MUB (Morgantown Utility Board)  meeting on Wednesday. it is clear that MUB needs to slow down and do more soil testing and consider environmental and social impacts before deciding on a route to connect the new Cobun Creek reservoir to the water treatment plant on Don Knotts Boulevard.
According to the information recently disclosed, MUB built over 2,400 feet of new water line running from Cobun Creek up Mississippi Street intending to connect that line to a line running along the multi-access path in White Park from Mississippi Street to the waterfall. This new water line and route through White Park was apparently designed prior to consulting with BOPARC,  City Council and residents of Morgantown.
Most critically, it was designed without considering the value of the trees to be clear cut, loss of use of the park, potential toxic runoff and potential leaching of carcinogens into our water supply.
Unless an alternate route is designed avoiding White Park entirely by utilizing Green Bag Road, no future routes should be considered without studying reports on the soil content from the state Department of Environmental Protection, on the impact to the park from BOPARC and the city of Morgantown, and on the trees and wildlife.
Assuming that the first alternate route is abandoned, MUB customers need to be informed what use MUB intends to make of the newly constructed but now useless water line laid in Mississippi Street.
Further, if what has been designated as alternate route  is utilized, on the Green Bag Road side of the existing reservoir, how long will the ice rink be unusable due to construction across the parking lot?
Richard Cohen
Morgantown