WEIRTON – The first of a series of temporary shutdowns at the Weirton water treatment plant has been scheduled for Wednesday.

According to a notice issued by the Weirton Area Water Board on Friday, a full shutdown of the plant will take place Wednesday, beginning at 7 a.m.

“This shutdown must occur in order for aspects of the Water Treatment Plant upgrade to take place,” according to the notice, which indicates the shutdown will last for approximately six hours.

The city will be under a voluntary water conservation during the project time.

“We encourage all customers to conserve as much as possible during this time,” the notice states.

Utilities Director A.D. “Butch” Mastrantoni announced the need for the shutdowns during Weirton Council’s July 7 meeting, explaining these periods will be used by contractors and Water Board staff to connect portions of the current water treatment system with new areas of the plant.

“Because we have to stay in the water business while we’re building, we have to toggle certain systems on and off in order to continue providing service while construction is going on,” Mastrantoni said at the time.

Mastrantoni anticipates four to five such instances, currently set to take place at various times into September.

The Weirton Area Water Board is in the midst of a project which will increase the treatment capacity at the water plant from its existing 4 million gallons per day to 8 million gallons per day.

The approximately $40 million project, being performed by contractor Triton Construction, has achieved close to the 50 percent mark, as of this month, according to officials.

Substantial completion is scheduled for early next year.

(Howell can be contacted at chowell@weirtondailytimes.com)