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New Martinsville receives EPA grant for sewer separation

Release Date: 10/4/2002
Contact Information: Roy Seneca 215-814-5567

Contact: Roy Seneca 215-814-5567
PHILADELPHIA – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded a $339,500 grant to the New Martinsville, Wetzel County, West Virginia to help pay for new storm sewers in the Witten Lane area of the city to alleviate problems with flooding and sewage overflows. The project will directly benefit 327 households and 25 businesses.

“Old, inadequate sewer systems are a major cause of water pollution problems in many communities nationwide. By improving the New Martinsville sewer systems, we are helping to protect water quality and public health,” said Donald S. Welsh, administrator for EPA’s mid-Atlantic Region.

The Witten Lane area experiences severe flooding during heavy rainfall, which damages homes and property, and overloads the city’s sewer system, causing sewage discharges into basements and the Ohio River. This situation results in a public health hazard.

The new storm sewers will eliminate most, if not all, the flooding and property damage in the area, and also eliminate potential health hazards associated with untreated sewage that backs up through basement drains and raw sewage overflows to the Ohio River.

The grant will pay for 55 percent of the estimated $695,300 project cost and the City will utilize a grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission and cash for the balance.