CHARLESTON,
WV – Gov. Jim Justice has
ordered the West Virginia National Guard (WVNG) and the West Virginia Emergency
Management Division (WVEMD) to provide all necessary resources to the City of
Gary, West Virginia, and other residents of McDowell County, following a recent
water system outage in the city.
The outage began when the main pump serving the City of Gary water system
abruptly stopped working last week, leaving approximately 500 customers without
water service. Engineers who evaluated the system determined that the pump was
beyond repair and that a new, custom-made pump would need to be purchased and
installed because the backup pumps were also not working.
Upon learning of the urgent situation last week, Gov. Justice immediately took
action, ordering that all state resources be made available right away. Acting
upon this order, WVEMD ordered an M149 water trailer from the WVNG. The WVNG
delivered the trailer, containing 400 gallons of potable water, to Gary City
Hall.
Today, State officials replenished the water supply in Gary, delivering
thousands more gallons of drinking water – including a 5,500-gallon water
tanker from the West Virginia Division of Highways, 500 gallons stored in water
trailers from the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation, and
three pallets, stacked with additional cases of water – to ensure that all
residents impacted by the ongoing issue have access to all the clean water they
need.
“This is yet another example of how, when West Virginians are in need, we run
to the fire with everyone and everything we’ve got,” Gov. Justice said. “Clean
water is absolutely a necessity to life for all of us. Not only are we going to
get the great people of Gary through this outage now, we’re also going to do
everything in our power to make sure that water is something they never have to
worry about again.”
In order to develop long-term solutions for the region’s aging water system
infrastructure, Gov. Justice has dispatched leaders, engineers, and additional
staff members from the West Virginia Water Development Authority and the Public
Service Commission of West Virginia to meet with local community officials
immediately to identify a plan moving forward.
“For decades and decades, people from many rural areas West Virginia, but
especially those from southern West Virginia, have experienced far too many
issues with their water systems, particularly in communities that inherited
their water systems long ago,” Gov. Justice said. “That’s why we need to go
beyond just delivering water, get to the root of the problem, and find a way to
fix this water system and others like it to make sure our people have reliable
access to the water they need in their daily lives.”
In addition to the resources supplied by the State of West Virginia, many civic
and private groups donated bottled water to the City of Gary.
“Thanks to the leadership of Governor Justice and the cooperative relationship
WVEMD shares with State partner agencies and county offices of emergency
management, a plan was in place for delivery of water to the City of Gary
within hours of notification,” said WVEMD Acting Director Thom Kirk. “These
relationships are paramount to the safety and well-being of the citizens of
West Virginia.”
McDowell County Emergency Management officials remain in constant contact with
WVEMD Operations personnel, reporting on the current situation in Gary and
ensuring water and other needs are met promptly.
“We’d like to thank all our State partners, especially Governor Justice and his
staff, for helping our county during this time,” said McDowell County Emergency
Management Director Teresa VanDyke. “Everything we’ve requested through the
WVEMD has been received.”
Since 2017, under Gov. Justice’s leadership, more than one hundred million
dollars have been committed to hundreds of counties and municipalities across
West Virginia to repair, replace, and improve their aging water and sewer
infrastructure through numerous funding streams, including the West Virginia
Infrastructure and Jobs Development Council, West Virginia Department of
Environmental Protection, West Virginia Office of Abandoned Mine Lands and
Reclamation, West Virginia Bureau for Public Health, West Virginia Appalachian
Regional Commission, and Community Development Block Grants.