Project to improve water quality in Newell area

NEW CUMBERLAND -- Newell water customers -- especially in the Grant area of Tomlinson Public Service District -- have become accustomed to cloudy drinking water.

However, the state of West Virginia has requested that the Tomlinson PSD assume operation of the unincorporated Newell water system, which will include its new water treatment plant, pump station and upgraded infrastructure.

Previously, water service to the area's 640 customers had been provided by the Newell Company, which had been owned and operated by the Homer Laughlin China Company, which had developed the area 150 years ago.

In 2020, then-owners of the company sold the majority of its food services division and the Homer Laughlin China Co. name to Steelite International, electing to retain HLC's retail division and rebranding it under the Fiesta Tableware Company name.

Currently, Newell households pay $34.57 for 3,400 gallons of water. However, once federal and state-mandated upgrades are made to the system, that amount will increase to $49.65, according to David Stevens, who is an administrative adviser for Tomlinson PSD.

That additional money from the rate hike, which was mandated from the West Virginia Public Service Commission, will go to cover the remaining 15 percent of the projected $20 million project not covered by federal and state grants.

Ultimately the $49.65 rate, though an increase for Newell residents, is the same that other Tomlinson PSD customers pay for their water, he noted.

Plans call for the construction of a $7 million water treatment plant in Newell Heights that then will be linked to upgraded pump stations and transmission lines for a total cost of $12 million for Phase 1. Stevens hopes officials will bid out the project in August and expect to start Phase 1 in January 2025 with a planned finish date of January 2026.

There is a Phase 2 also in the works, which would include replacement of the lead and copper lines at an additional cost of $8 million to come up with the $20 million estimate. Plans are to start that almost immediately after Phase 1 wraps up if not sooner.

Although he doesn't anticipate any more public meetings in the near future, Stevens said officials may elect to have one closer to the Phase 2 start time -- much like they did recently for Phase 1.

The replacement of lead and copper infrastructure lines is imperative to helping Tomlinson PSD deliver the safest water possible to Newell and Tomlinson customers, who have been plagued by elevated manganese levels in their drinking water, although not high enough to make it unsafe for consumption.

Manganese is a naturally occurring mineral that can affect water quality and can cause undesirable tastes, color and odors at levels in excess of 0.05 mg/L. This "secondary standard" as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency defines it, is not health-based or enforceable.

With the lesser quantities found in water systems like Newell's, manganese isn't necessarily toxic, but it can still cause the water to taste, smell or look bad as well as stain laundry, scale plumbing and leave black deposits on sinks and bathroom fixtures as noted by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

Stevens is confident that the planned upgrades to the system, including a new water treatment plant, can remedy the manganese issue for customers.

Tomlinson PSD currently has 1,800 water customers -- many in the area of New Cumberland, which is around 10 miles south. Stevens projects this project will add another 640 with the Newell customers.

A five-member board, appointed by Hancock County commissioners to six-year terms, oversees the operations of the Tomlinson PSD.

Stevens encourages those with questions to call Tomlinson PSD's New Cumberland office between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday at 304-387-2658.

In addition to coming up with that extra 15 percent for the project with the price hike, Newell customers still will have to come up with money to pay for their sewage, which will be billed separately.

Hancock Public Service District will oversee their sewage needs. The West Virginia PSC also has mandated that agency make sewer upgrades and that will be detailed in the near future, according to Anita Mahan from the Hancock PSD.