SHINNSTON, W.Va. — Approximately 2400 people remain without water following damage to a water main in the Enterprise area of Harrison County late Friday night.
“We have several engineers in town that work for different companies and they’ve all come together to help out,” an emotional Sam DeMarco, Mayor of Shinnston’s, said in a phone interview Monday afternoon. “It really hits me in the heart the way people work together for a common goal.”
The impacted area includes the entire town of Shinnston. Volunteer fire departments in Shinnston, Spelter, Lumberport, and Worthington are all keeping bottled water on hand as part of the emergency response.
DeMarco said the town has been trying to get the water main on Rt. 19 in Enterprise replaced for a long time, but have faced a series of obstacles.
“Hopefully we can get this new water system that we’re looking at–the new water lines–completed in the near future so we can avoid some of these outages,” he said.
A tree fell across the water line and severed the line in half, according to DeMarco. It was a combination, he said, of bad luck meeting even worse timing.
“It’s both,” he said. “We are replacing this line and doing a relocation.”
“The new line will be better protected. We see the vulnerability of the way it is currently in use.”
The City of Shinnston will hold a press conference at 5 p.m. this evening to provide an update on the repairs, which have been around-the-clock. DeMarco added that Harrison County Commissioner Ron Watson and Shinnston’s delegation in the Capitol–including Senators Mike Romano (D – Harrison, 12), Doug Facemire (D – Braxton, 12), and House Minority Leader Tim Miley (D – Harrison, 48)–had briefed Governor Jim Justice on the situation. DeMarco said Justice’s office is aware of the situation and has offered to assist, if needed.
The city has issued a State of Emergency for all water customers impacted and have asked customers to conserve.
Service is expected to return some time on Tuesday.