By Stephen Smoot
Governor Jim Justice recently released a list of Infrastructure and Jobs Development Council grant approvals. Among the many listed, Greater Harrison Public Service District received $500,000. In combination with a grant from the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, the PSD will use the funds to complete another step in a long term modernization process.
Decades ago, across the state, subdivision developers installed what experts call “packaged” sewage treatment. A system of man-made ponds and chemical neutralization purified water of waste in a multi-step process prior to releasing the cleaned water into the environment.
The grants will help to pay the cost of replacing such a system currently serving a subdivision near Woodstock.
At the time, this served as a modern construct, but in 2024, the PSD considers this “antiquated technology,” as Bill Hoover explains.
Though antiquated, the system performs as designed and poses no environmental threat. The aesthetics of a sludge pond surrounded by a high chain link fence topped with barbed wire, complete with a safe, but unpleasant occasional summertime smell, however, serve as one vital reason for replacing it with a connection to the PSD.
Furthermore, the maintenance costs of removing vegetation and other issues make the current system more expensive than a modern replacement. Therefore, Greater Harrison PSD took a proactive stance to remove and replace these ponds wherever and whenever possible in their purview.
Also, Hoover stated that “we have to pay permit fees on every one of these” to the WV DEP. With the new system “we have no permit fees, no maintenance, and no landscaping.”
“We started off with 13. We’re down to five. There will be only four after this,” stated Hoover. All of the customers currently using these systems will eventually get added into the main sewer system.
This comes as an element of good news after water and sewer issues have plagued other parts of Harrison County in recent months.
The West Virginia Infrastructure and Jobs Development Council serves to help local governments pay for costly upgrades and extensions to water and sewer service, among other types of projects.
