The Fairmont water utility is strengthening the water system despite the drought

Oct. 4—FAIRMONT — Recent rains brought respite to Fairmont’s beleaguered water lines.

The state has been suffering from a severe drought, which has resulted in an increased number of leaks across the city. Fairmont Utilities Manager John Carson compared the stress placed on water pipes to what happens in the winter when the ground freezes and shifts.

“During a drought like this or an extremely dry period, that soil will also shift,” Carson said. “Things tend to break down a little more.”

Carson and City Manager Travis Blosser said the city has been able to keep up with the breaks. The city has more than enough spare parts and manpower to handle it. More good news is that there appear to have been no more outages than average, which is contrary to what would normally be expected.

However, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration predicted the drought will last into 2025. Misty Spittler, a certified adjuster with Insurance Claim Recovery Support, once said she worked with a client who suffered significant water damage in Texas after a main line failure. ICRS is an insurance claims settlement company based in Texas. The utility company responsible for the line faced similar problems due to drought.

“Municipalities must invest in infrastructure improvements to prepare for such events,” Spittler said. “Upgrading pipes to withstand temperature and pressure fluctuations, improving monitoring systems to detect leaks more quickly and increasing water storage capacity will help avoid service disruptions during droughts and other extreme weather conditions. “Due to climate change, many areas are likely to face longer, more severe droughts.” Therefore, infrastructure preparation is critical.”

A common refrain about West Virginia’s drought is how unusual it is compared to previous events.

Blosser said the city is building resilience to meet any challenges to the water system. Although the city’s water supply fell below its normal levels over the summer, it still remained above the level the city has deemed adequate. Carson said the city maintains a parts inventory to ensure it has the appropriate materials or larger-diameter pipe needed for repairs.

Fairmont’s water utility also evaluated its storage capabilities and considered possible options for upgrades. Blosser said the city plans to work closely with the Environmental Protection Agency to obtain federal grants to increase its storage capacity.

The city is also making progress in addressing its staffing shortage. The city saw an increase in the applicant pool and employee retention. Salary increases from the city council also helped. While the leaks have affected some of the city’s other projects, new hires should help the city build capacity for the work it is doing.

Carson said the water system overall is fairly well maintained. In the early 2000s, there was a large project where the city replaced many of Fairmont’s water mains. While there is aging infrastructure along with newer pipes, Carson says the bigger issue is keeping it well maintained so new problems don’t arise.

“I think it’s important for utilities — not just the city of Fairmont, but all utilities — to always be thinking about resiliency,” Blosser said. “Water is such an important aspect of everyone’s daily life. I think every utility system should pay attention to this, and I think Fairmont residents and our broader utility customers should be grateful that we are committed to keeping the water flowing.”

Reach Esteban at [email protected]