Town of Davis receiving $5 million to upgrade 80-year-old wastewater system

DAVIS, W.Va. (WBOY) — The town of Davis in Tucker County has received funding to build a new sewer system, a move that will prevent the town from being fined as it has in the past and allow for residential and economic growth in the area.

Last week, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) announced that $5 million from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will be allocated to upgrade Davis’ wastewater infrastructure.

Davis previously was fined $7,500 by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection for discharging into the Blackwater River.

Mayor Alan Tomson said that Davis’s current system has been at capacity for the last decade because it is an older design that treats both wastewater and storm water. Under that system, 80% of the water that is getting treated is storm water. The $5 million will go to making a system dedicated to treating wastewater.

Tomson said some sections of the current system are 60 to 80 years old. “We have parts of the sewer system that we’re opening up that have wooden pieces,” he told 12 News.

Tomson said the primary reason they are updating the water system is to comply with regulations, but it will also allow for economic growth and expansion. Since the system is at capacity, no new developments have been able to be built in the area , but once the system is replaced, new residents and businesses will be able to move into the area, build homes, and hook into the sewer system.

Mayor Tomson said that they first applied for this money through former Congressman McKinley’s office . The grant is now making its way through the senatorial side. Mayor Tomson said that he expects the money to reach Davis in the next four to six months, with construction beginning this fall or next spring and lasting at least a year.

Engineers proposed a separate wastewater system for the town at a meeting more than two years ago , but at that time, the town did not have the funds to cover the new system without a significant water rate increase.

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