BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
KERMIT — The water treatment plant in Kermit will be “like a brand-new plant” before the end of 2024. Mayor Charles Sparks announced the news in a Kermit Council meeting last week.
Sharing the outcome of a recent meeting with engineers from Thrasher, Sparks said, “We’re going to get everything we need at that water plant—total—100%.”
The comprehensive upgrade will include a new roof, fence and internal systems—electrical, panels, motors, switches and valves—and all new outside parts, including a state-of-the-art raw water intake.
“We’re going to redo the outside walls and there will be a building on top,” Sparks continued, noting the building would be heated and air-conditioned.
“Another big thing is they will redo all the plumbing and we’ll have two new pumps. They’re going to put in a new intake.”
Sparks sketched on a notebook to illustrate how the current intake goes into the river in a straight line and is prone to freezing up.
“The intake is supposed to be like your ink pen—bullet-shaped, so when the water and debris hit it, the debris bounces off and the water goes in,” he said. “The new intake will also have an air blast system on it. You can use it for 30 minutes and don’t have to walk out on the beam anymore; just hit the button and it shoots 4,000 psi.”
He added, “I was tickled pink when they walked in and said, ‘You’re getting everything. It’s going to be like a brand-new plant.’”
The mayor anticipates a pre-bid meeting within 30-40 days and a bid award 30 days after.
“Hopefully they will start working on it by the first of June. Then it should be four or five months to have it all done,” said Sparks. “We waited four years on this and are glad to have it.”
Addressing other infrastructure concerns, the mayor revisited the condition of a 110,000-gallon water storage tank that has developed nine perforations and is now at risk of rupturing. Following a visit from the state health department, he reported in January that the tank was at risk of rupturing.
Replacing it would cost over $500,000, so representatives from the engineering company Thrasher contacted Kathy Elliott, deputy director/ senior project administrator at Region 2 Planning and Development Council, to request emergency critical needs funding.
“There’s not too much they can do to help us with the water tank with all the leaks in it,” Sparks said of the effort. “They can give us a loan for 3%.”
The town’s sewer system also poses a challenge. The mayor shared the findings of a recent investigation, saying Thrasher used cameras to discover that a line located under U.S. 52 and the railroad tracks has a swag.
“The line itself also has cracks in it,” said Sparks, adding that the estimate to replace the line was $2 million.
However, he said the engineering company is looking at a less costly alternative for $250,000: abandoning the line under the tracks and installing a new line and two grinder pumps.
“That sewer line is probably 100 to 150 years old,” said Sparks. “It’s clay tile and will break if it’s moved. It’s in a steel casing, but it is still moving. You’ve got a lot of weight going on [the railroad tracks].”
New water testing is on the horizon for Kermit. Sparks detailed that testing for per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), known as “forever chemicals,” within the town’s waterworks and sewer treatment plant is imminent.
The testing follows West Virginia’s enactment of the PFAS Protection Act in the 2023 legislative session to identify and address PFAS.
“I just want to run that by you,” Sparks conveyed. “They don’t have the details yet, but I’m sure some great minds are sitting somewhere coming up with beaucoup recommendations and requirements.”
The mayor initially thought Kermit would be exempt.
“We aren’t [exempt] since we’re in an area where a lot of coal mining took place, and a lot of chemicals were used to clean the coal,” Sparks explained, emphasizing the permanence of PFAS in the environment.
“It’s just like arsenic,” he said. “There’s arsenic in that river that’s pretty high.”