CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The Public Service Commission of West Virginia has ordered the Weirton Water Board to submit an action plan to fix the county’s water service problems.
The PSC directed the board to present steps to replace the county’s aging water pipes and cast iron within the next five years. In addition, the board needs to create a repair and leak detection program, lower water loss to 15 percent or less, and resolve violations of state public health standards, according to the 13-page PSC order.
That Weirton Water Board has 90 days to submit their corrective action plans to the PSC.
House Majority Leader Patrick McGeehan filed a complaint in February because of low pressure and boil water advisories, as well as city-wide outages for prolonged periods of time. These issues had been affecting the system’s over 9,000 customers for around two months.
Upon an investigation, the PSC discovered that around 40 percent of the city’s water lines are above the frost line, which is against state requirements.
Along with the action plan, the Weirton Water Board has been ordered to create a system to alert customers by way of text and email when service is disrupted. The board also needs to provide each customer a list of communication channels when outages occur.