Clean up continues after West Fork River, Stonecoal Creek contamination
by Brittany Murray, originally posted on January 1, 2017
WESTON — An emergency project to remediate sewage contamination in the West Fork River that occurred earlier this year is nearly complete.
“We received a grant of $130,000, and he is just about finished with the spot on Court Avenue right under the bridge where the emergency occurred,” Weston Mayor Julia Spelsberg said. “We just have aging infrastructure that is crumbling, especially when it comes to sanitary issues.”
After the incident, the Lewis County Health Department immediately issued an advisory recommending that residents not take part in water activities downstream from Stonecoal Creek.
“People had odors there and, of course, our solution was a pump that made lots of noise,” Spelsberg said. “Hopefully, this will be a better solution.”
The contamination occurred July 19 when sewage overflowed into Stonecoal Creek due to a failing collection line under a manhole on Court Street.
“The collection system downstream of the manhole was blocked and could not be opened,” said Kelley Gillenwater, chief communications officer for the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection.
Gillenwater said the city tried to clear the line for several days before using an emergency pump to divert the wastewater back into the city of Weston’s collection system.
“An emergency pump was set to pump the wastewater from the north side of the Stonecoal Creek manhole across the stream to the south side of the Stonecoal Creek interceptor to eliminate the discharge,” she said. “The city engineering consultant designed an emergency permanent force main from the Fest Pump Station to the south side interceptor.”
In addition to the emergency pump, Gillenwater said extensive cleanup was also done to help with the creek’s recovery.
“Debris in the immediate area of the manhole was removed and disposed of,” she said. “The area was limed for disinfection. The sewage that discharged into the stream was lost.”
The emergency pump has been in place since then with no documented discharges, but the pump was only meant to be temporary until a permanent solution could be found. The city of Weston awarded the contract for the emergency project to Blue Ridge Construction on Dec. 2, and construction began on Dec. 14.
“The new force main was placed in service on Dec. 28,” Gillenwater said. “The emergency pump is staged in place as a safeguard for the new system and will be removed once officials are comfortable with the new force main.”
Though the emergency project has been successful, Spelsberg said the city is working on long-term solutions.
“We have a big, multi-million project coming up that will correct some of these issues,” she said. “Where that emergency occurred along Stonecoal Creek, we’ll be replacing some lines.”
An application has been submitted to the Infrastructure and Jobs Development Council for funding to replace much of the sewer infrastructure in that area and extend it to the Turner Town/Butchersville area, Gillenwater said.
“The project, which early estimates put at approximately $8 million, would be funded, if approved, by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection and IJDC,” she said. “Replacement of the Stonecoal Creek interceptor, where the line failed and caused sewage to discharge through a manhole, is part of that planned project.”
Gillenwater said the project is still in the preliminary application phase and is being reviewed by DEP’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund program. Projects must meet the revolving fund program requirements before a loan agreement can be executed.
“The city has requested low interest loan funding from the CWSRF program and the Infrastructure and Jobs Development Council,” she said. “In addition to the permanent solution for the Stonecoal Creek Interceptor, the project will provide sewer service to the areas of Turnertown and Butchersville, along with other miscellaneous work.”