by Mike McNulty
It’s amazing how history has a way of repeating itself.
One hundred years ago, in 1922, an engineering firm from Pittsburgh conducted a study of Morgantown’s sewer system. It found that what sewage system existed was constructed ad hoc with little to no planning. Raw sewage flowed and spilled throughout the town because construction of the system was primarily left to those developing various plots of land. The city was a sanitary mess.
Fast forward 65 years to 1987, when Morgantown’s Sanitary Board was merged with the Water Commission. These entities were combined because the sanitary sewer system was struggling. According to an Aug. 14, 1987, article in The Dominion Post, then water commission engineer/manager Tom Urquhart explained the system was struggling because, “They chose to let the developers build the lines and closed their eyes.”
Now, fast forward an additional 35 years, and here we are facing SB 129, which looks to move us back to 1922. This developer/builder-designed bill looks to severely reduce local management of sewer and water line construction by the Morgantown Utility Board and put it in the hands of developers/contractors and the West Virginia Public Service Commission. In fact, SB 129 does not require MUB’s approval on how water and sanitary systems are to be constructed. That role is transferred entirely to developers and the PSC. While the bill does require that plans be submitted to MUB, we have far less say in what standards or practices are employed.
From the moment of its inception, MUB has worked diligently to improve upon the water and sewer systems it has owned since September 1987. This has included everything from numerous upgrades to our wastewater treatment plants to sewer renewals and system expansion. In doing, so we developed a solid core of in-house professional engineers and main line construction staff to manage projects from conception to putting pipes in the ground. With each and every project, we construct systems according to the highest standards of potable water and sanitation management. Because we are not here to make a profit, we do not cut corners or look for ways to somehow maximize profits. What we do is design systems with one goal in mind: To protect public health now and well into the future.
In addition, SB 129 requires the contractor to hand over ownership and management of the systems they construct to MUB when complete. This means that local rate payers become liable for a system constructed according to contractor and PSC standards. This is entirely unacceptable, not just for the financial burden it places on our rate payers, but also for the risks it poses to public health.
I remind you that in 1950, the City of Morgantown took out a series of revenue bonds to move the water system away from a privately owned corporation (American Water) and into a publicly owned utility. They did this solely to protect public health through improved water quality. In 1987, the city moved the assets and management of the sewer system to the newly created public utility (MUB) for the same reason. Since that time, our mission has always been focused on protecting the public health. Every decision we make, every task we complete, is based upon this purpose.
SB 129 is a move backward — not forward. It strips us of our ability to live up to MUB’s mission and places authority in the hands of developers/contractors and the PSC. This is not only dangerous, but directly counters the lessons that the past offers.
It’s important the public contact their state senators and representatives (wvlegislature.gov) to speak out against SB 129. Tell them you disagree with putting dollars over public health. One hundred years of history is knocking. Are we listening?
