CHARLESTON – The Public Service Commission of West Virginia on Monday scheduled a public comment hearing for April 23 in Weirton over massive water problems in the Northern Panhandle city.
The public is invited to address the Commission on those problems starting at 6 p.m. at the Weirton Millsop Community Center, 3420 Main St., Weirton.
The hearing is to examine the board’s practices and procedures, the causes of water main breaks and water storage problems.
On February 13, House of Delegates Majority Leader Pat McGeehan, R-Hancock, requested that the Commission investigate the situation involving the Weirton Area Water Board.
Commission staff was ordered on February 24 to examine the causes of the water main breaks and storage level shortages.
The Commission noted then it was not seeking to “point a finger or establish blame,” but did want to identify causes for the break and identify “possible preemptive actions” that anticipate future problems and head them off.
The board issued a conservation order last December 18 after approximately 30 breaks occurred within the water system, leading to lower water supplies. Continued line breaks, particularly in a water main serving downtown Weirton, resulted in outages and caused the board to issue a boil water order. The problem continued in January and February. Reports were also received that system customers outside of Weirton were also affected.
Local news reports said 300 to 400 households were without water during the crisis.
More information on this case can be found on the PSC website: www.psc.state.wv.us. Click on “Case Information” and access Case No. 25-0262-W-P.
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