A $1.2 million federal funding award will help to correct chronic water woes in three McDowell County towns.
The funding award announced last week by U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., and U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., will specifically allow the McDowell County Public Service District to begin work on Phase II of the Elkhorn Creek Water Project.
The project will improve potable water service in the towns of Kimball, Northfork and Keystone, as well as several other communities, through the replacement of outdated systems.
Residents living in the three communities have been dealing with water quality and quantity issues for several years.
“Clean water is essential to a healthy, thriving community,” Manchin said. “Every community deserves this access and as a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I have made it a priority to ensure our communities in rural West Virginia are not left behind.”
“The people of McDowell County and southern West Virginia helped build our nation,” Capito added. “We owe it to them to ensure they have reliable access to basic services like clean drinking water. Through my role on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, I have worked to deliver solutions that will help those reliant on old coal camp water systems; and as a member of the Appropriations Committee, I have advocated for programs that fund projects like this to replace older municipal systems that are no longer dependable.”
Given the frequent number of water outages experienced by residents living in these three communities, and the age of the existing water lines, the new county system is critical.
With hope work on the project can begin soon.
No family should be deprived of the basic necessity of clean and safe drinking water.
