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WEIRTON -- The city’s water distribution system upgrades ordered by the West Virginia Public Service Commission could be facing a delay after a proposal for funding the project was tabled in Charleston.
According to Jesse Alden, project manager for the Thrasher Group, the proposal for the cast iron and galvanized line replacement project was reviewed and recommended by the West Virginia Infrastructure and Jobs Development Council’s Technical Review and Funding Committee at the end of July, but a final decision was put on hold earlier this month by the full council.
"The project was tabled due to some comments it received from the public," Alden said. "We did not get a funding recommendation at that meeting."
The project was ordered by the PSC to replace the cast iron and galvanized lines in Weirton’s water distribution system following investigations into water outages in the city in 2024 and 2025, with the Weirton Area Water Board given five years to complete the work.
Ben Erste, of the Brooke-Hancock-Jefferson Metropolitan Planning Commission, explained any delay is a concern when trying to meet the state’s deadline.
"They gave five years, and that’s 60 months, so that’s one month gone," Erste said.
The IJDC is set to next meet Sept. 2.
"Everything is going to get shifted at least 30 days," Alden said of the project timeline.
The proposed funding package for the project is to include a $10 million Congressionally Directed Spending grant, an $18.97 million loan through the Water Infrastructure Financing Innovation Act, a $500,000 loan from the IJDC, a $4.25 million loan from the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection’s Drinking Water Treatment Revolving Fund, a $500,000 Green Project Grant from the DWTRF for energy savings and an additional $500,000 Green Project Grant for water savings.
"There’s a mixture of loans and grants," Alden noted.
According to IJDC comments available online, "the proposed total cost for this project is $39,220,000," with an aim "to replace all galvanized steel water lines wherever they exist in the WAWB’s distribution system as well as all cast iron water lines within the Downtown North district of Weirton through which approximately 2,850 customers are served."
The IJDC documents note the project would encompass only the replacement of existing lines, not add new infrastructure.
When asked by board members if the delay could result in the project missing an opportunity to receive any of the funding, Erste said it is difficult to tell at this point. He did, however, explain those providing the funding would look at both current utility rates and median household income levels in the city.
"Weirton is considered more wealthy, or higher in median household income than many areas of the state of West Virginia," Erste said, explaining the state has a limited amount of funding available and may look more favorably on communities it feels would have more difficulty in financially supporting a project. "Every year, it seems that divide becomes a little bit more."
The Water Board had hoped to have the project moving forward in order to open bids by March 31, 2028, with construction beginning in June 2028 and completed in June 2029.
The IJDC notes the Weirton Area Water Board’s distribution system includes approximately 142 miles of water lines, nine water storage tanks with a combined storage volume of 6,120,000 gallons and five booster stations.
The project would include 137,000 linear feet of PVC, DI and HDPE water line to generally match the size and capacity of existing lines ranging between 2 and 12 inches in diameter.