CLENDENIN, W.Va. — More than 80 households in the Leatherwood area of Kanawha County are one step closer to having running water following the groundbreaking for the long-awaited project to extend West Virginia American Water’s lines.
With $7.9 million secured at the local, state, and federal levels, Leatherwood residents, some of whom have waited nearly 70 years for running water, can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
“It’s unfortunate that those have to be campaign promises, that we want to get water to areas of Kanawha County—our state’s revered county, our largest county, the home of our state’s capital—that there are still people who don’t have the running water,” Kanawha County Commissioner Natalie Tennant said on Tuesday.
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito secured more than $5 million toward the project in Congressionally Directed Spending. She has listened to Leatherwood residents for years and is proud to see this project finally come to fruition.
“They’ve brought me their water before. In this day and age, it is unconscionable that that should be what’s coming out of their spigots, so, hopefully soon, clean water will be serving them,” she said.
A large group of Leatherwood residents turned out for Tuesday’s groundbreaking after decades of advocating for themselves at every level of government. Many still use wells and cisterns that they hope will soon be obsolete.
“I have a well that produces about two gallons a minute, so laundry is a chore. Even washing dishes is a chore,” resident Stan Rucker said.
The residents’ self-advocacy sticks with Capito still after so many years of trying to bring water to Leatherwood. She believes that while the money may be coming from sources like the federal government, state government, and county commission, the people getting service are the ones who made it happen.
“They are the ones that brought the project to our office time and time again. We thought we had it years ago, and it fell through, so think how disappointing that is. They’ve obviously been great advocates for themselves,” she said.
When completed, the project will add more than six miles of pipe to WVAWC’s lines and, in addition to bringing water into homes, install over 20 fire hydrants in the area. That is a welcome addition for many residents.
“We’ve lost two or three homes in our area due to fire and no fire protection,” Rucker said.
Work is anticipated to begin in the spring of 2027.