CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia American Water Company held two public meetings Wednesday at Bridge Valley Community & Technical College on its Source Water Protection Plan.
The meetings, which dealt with the Kanawha Valley’s water system, were the ninth and tenth in a series of 14.
“New state regulations require all water utilities to put together these plans, so we have them in draft form now. We’re trying to get our customers’ input and the public’s input on how we might improve them before we submit them to the Bureau for Public Health in July,” said WVAWC spokesperson Laura Jordan.
Jordan said the detailed plan addresses several issues, including contingency plans and looking into alternate sources in case of an emergency. Jordan said that since the 2014 Freedom chemical spill, residents had been more concerned about their water.
“I think the community as a whole is better prepared,” Jordan said. “I think people are more ware of where the drinking water comes from. They’re more concerned about spills or incidents that they see around water. We certainly get more phone calls of people saying ‘hey you should check this out.'”
Charleston Councilwoman Karan Ireland, who attended the evening meeting, said she and other Charleston residents had been more wary of water issues since the crisis.
“We were all kind of rudely awakened by what could happen and we just had no idea,” she said. “The company–it seems like they’re preparing to prepare. I hear a lot of vague talk about studies, and it’s been two years since the event. It seems like some of that should have been completed.”
Charleston resident Lori Magana also wanted to see more specifics in terms of potential water contamination sources.
“I’m still concerned. They still don’t have everything in place that I would like to see in place,” Magana said. “They don’t have a full inventory of what our contaminants are. They’re still working on feasibility studies. I think they’re working on the process but I would like to see more.”
The meetings so far had mostly been poorly attended, but those who had turned out had been passionate about water, Jordan said.
“The attendance has been fairly low but the people who have come have really come with significant feedback; significant concerns about protecting their drinking water,” she said. “We’ve had some very valuable conversations. The people who have come out have actually taken time to review the plan.”
WVAWC had previously held meetings in Bluefield, Pipestem, Huntington, Weston and Webster Springs.
Their final four meetings will be held March 29 in Gassaway and March 30 in Fayetteville.
Public versions of draft plans, meeting schedules and additional information on watersheds and source water protection can be found online at the company’s website.