State Agencies Supporting Water System Partnerships

West Virginia Department of Health & Human Resources

Public Service Commission of West Virginia

West Virginia Infrastructure and Jobs Development Council

State Policies and Programs Regarding Water System Partnerships

DWSRF & OTHER STATE FUND PRIORITIZATION OF CONSOLIDATION PROJECTS

The West Virginia Bureau of Public Health (BPH) assists PWSs in the development of partnerships by encouraging consolidation or merger options through funding infrastructure improvement projects (e.g., DWSRF). All West Virginia drinking water projects using any state agency funding, including DWSRF, are reviewed and approved by the West Virginia Infrastructure and Jobs Development Council (IJDC). The IJDC approval process includes reviewing all viable alternatives, including consolidation. Any project where consolidation is the most cost-effective alternative is referred to the IJDC Consolidation Committee. The BPH and Public Service Commission (PSC) are Consolidation Committee voting members. When the Consolidation Committee and IJDC determine consolidation is the most viable, cost effective alternative, only this alternative will be approved for funding. 

Partnerships at Every Level: A Case Study

The small community of Amonate straddles the border of Virginia and West Virginia. Its water system was built and maintained by a coal company until the 1990s. The water quality was poor and the pressure was unreliable – people usually hauled drinking water from a nearby creek. Another former coal community just a few miles away also straddled the same border. Funding through multiple regional and state agencies helped both of these small systems be taken over by utilities on both sides of the state line – the McDowell County Public Service District in West Virginia, and the Tazewell County Public Service Authority in Virginia. Funding came from the West Virginia Infrastructure and Jobs Development Council, the Virginia CDBG, and the Appalachian Regional Commission.

For more info on this project, visit:

http://www.arc.gov/magazine/articles.asp?ARTICLE_ID=135&F_ISSUE_ID=17&F_CATEGORY_ID=

Helpful Links to State Resources

• Infrastructure and Capacity Development Program: http://www.wvdhhr.org/oehs/eed/iandcd/
• Drinking Water Treatment Revolving Fund: http://www.wvdhhr.org/oehs/eed/iandcd/DWTRF.asp