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EPA Grant Will Help Ensure Safe Drinking Water in West Virginia

Release Date: 1/24/2002
Contact Information: Roy Seneca, (215) 814-5567

Roy Seneca, (215) 814-5567

PHILADELPHIA – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded a $891,180 grant to the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources to help ensure safe drinking water in the state.

“Recent changes in federal health protections are placing greater demands on public water suppliers, especially the smaller water systems. This funding will support West Virginia’s efforts to provide technical help, training, and certification to water system operators,” said Donald S. Welsh, regional administrator for EPA’s mid-Atlantic region.

The department will use the funding to assist drinking water suppliers in meeting federal and state public health standards. Funding will also be used to help the state initiate enforcement actions against public water suppliers who fail to comply with state and federal regulations.

The EPA funds are awarded annually to states that assume the primary enforcement authority to help ensure the nation’s drinking waters remain safe.

There are more than 1,400 public water systems in West Virginia, serving more than 1.8 million people. Ninety percent of the systems are considered small, a category assigned to those that serve less than 10,000 people. Only 19 large systems -- those serving more than 10,000 people – are in the state.