COALWOOD, W.Va. — The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection along with officials from the U.S. EPA recently joined officials in McDowell County to cut the ribbon on a new sewage treatment plant for the Coalwood community earlier this week.
It’s the first phase of a two-phase project and will provide sewer service to approximately 72 homes in the area. Those customers are in the process of being connected to the new system. It’s also the first step in changing a lot of historic issues with wastewater disposal in that part of West Virginia.
“It’s going to help the environment and public health in this area by eliminating straight pipes of raw sewage from entering the waterways of West Virginia,” said Kathy Emery, director of the DEP Division of Wastewater Management.
According to Emery, the idea of water infrastructure started in McDowell County more than two decades ago. However, the first priority was getting municipal water service to homes. The creation of sewage treatment plants and wastewater disposal is only now becoming a priority. Those are being constructed with a variety of grants from the DEP, EPA, and others to help with the process.
“The Public Service District has been focusing on providing mostly safe drinking water, that was their first priority, this is their first venture into providing wastewater treatment,” she said.
Most of the homes which will be served by the system are currently running their sewage and waste water straight into the nearby creek. It’s the way things have always been done in this region for years. The idea is try and change those long held behaviors. However, Emery notes, the steep terrain of the area makes it harder than most would have believed.
“I think that’s the real challenge for some of these more rural areas. They have a lot of topographic challenges, particularly in that part of the state. It’s much more challenging design and construction than areas like Kanawha and Putnam counties,” she added.
The project was funded through the state DEP with $1.2 million in grants from the DEP’s revolving loan fund. The rest of the money came from the Infrastructure and Development Council and block grant funding.
“There’s a second phase of Coalwood. We’re very close to bidding a project in Iaeger and they’re also working on a sewer project for Ashland and Crumpler. They have several projects on the books here in McDowell County,” she said.
The second phase of the Coalwood Project would provide sewer service to another 137 homes in McDowell County. The funding is not in place and there is no timeline for the second phase of the project.