NOTICE:

Morgantown Utility Board Meeting July 8, 2008.

Morgantown Utility Board Meeting June 10, 2008.

Downtown Traffic Control Schematic

NEW Feature

Locations where MUB will be working the week of 07/21/08 to 07/25/08:

Events:

“Only Tap Water Delivers” Poster Contest Winners - May 8, 2008

The winners of MUB’s “Only Tap Water Delivers” themed poster contest are (from left): Chase Atkinson (front), Hayden Atkinson, Abigail Snitz and Veda Campbell. The recipients were awarded BOPARC pool passes for their creative posters celebrating Drinking Water Week, May 4-10.

Veda Campbell (Age 10)		Abigail Snitz (Age 10)
Chase Atkinson (Age 6)		Hayden Atkinson (Age 7)

Storm Drain Marking Project - October 20, 2007

The MUB would like to thank the volunteers from the Suncrest Neighborhood Association and Fieldcrest Hall for helping us place over 100 blue and gold medallions that warn, “NO DUMPING, DRAINS TO STREAMS” in the Suncrest area on October 20, 2007.   Rainwater runoff easily picks up materials such as oil, trash and grass clippings from roads and yards, and carries them into our drains. The markers are there to remind the public to protect our local streams and rivers.

2007 Deckers Creek Adventure Day - September 8, 2007

Morgantown Utility Board participated in the "2007 Deckers Creek Adventure Day" this past September to educate kids and their parents about protecting our local watersheds, such as  Deckers Creek.

2007 Bicycle Poker Run - September 23, 2007

On September 23, the Mon River Trails Conservancy held a "Bicycle Poker Run."  Around 50 individuals participated in the event on a beautiful fall day in Morgantown.  Members of the Morgantown Utility Board (MUB) staff handed ice cold MUB water to participants at one of the check points.

Burroughs Run & Poponoe Run Groundbreaking Ceremony         

The Morgantown Utility Board celebrated the start of their construction for the Burroughs Run and Poponoe Run Stormwater Project on September 27, 2007. State Senator Michael Oliverio, Mayor Ron Justice and several other guests were present at the ceremony to commemorate the beginning of the project.

State Senator Michael Oliverio of District 13, presented Morgantown Utility Board Chairman C. Barton Loar and General Manager Jim Green a check for $8.5 million. The loan came from The Department of Environmental Protection State Revolving Fund Loan Program for the stormwater project.		General Manager Jim Green addressed the crowd of engineers, City officials, and business owners at the Erickson Alumni Center for the Groundbreaking Ceremony.

Morgantown Mayor Ron Justice spoke about the amount of cooperation between everyone involved in the project.  "We didn't all agree on everything, but we all agreed that this needed to be fixed," Justice said.

The crowd listens to State Senator Michael Oliverio talk about the need for the stormwater project in the Burroughs Run & Poponoe Run areas.		City Councilman James Manilla (left), MUB General Manager Jim Green, and MUB Engineer Doug Smith converse before the Groundbreaking Ceremony.

October 23, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE- The Dominion Post

Neighborhood group marks Suncrest storm drains

Volunteers from the Suncrest Neighborhood Association and Fieldcrest Hall helped the Morgantown Utility Board (MUB) place more than 100 blue and gold medallions that warn “NO DUMPING, DRAINS TO STREAMS” around the neighborhood Saturday.
           
 “I was extremely happy to see WVU Students and members of the general public working together to bring awareness to the importance of not polluting Morgantown’s stormwater,” MUB staff engineer Scott Copen said. “We were able to mark over 100 drains in a short time and are hoping to expand this type of cooperative effort throughout Morgantown.”
           
Many residents don’t know that most of what goes down our storm drains will end up in local streams such as Deckers Creek, Burroughs Run and Poponoe Run, and not in Morgantown’s wastewater treatment plant. 

Rainwater runoff easily picks up materials such as oil, trash and grass clippings from roads and yards, and carries them into our drains.  The markers are there to remind the public to protect streams and rivers from the kinds of pollutants that harm fish, destroy aquatic life and make our waters unsafe for drinking, swimming and fishing. 

These markers are part of a larger community education campaign undertaken by MUB to keep streams free of stormwater pollution. Here are a few simple steps you can take to help reduce the pollution entering our storm drains:

• Do not dump materials such as used motor oil and antifreeze down drains, recycle these materials
• Keep grass clipping, dirt and leaves out of the street and gutters.
• Clean up after your pets.
• Don’t litter.
• Use fertilizers and pesticides sparingly.

 
Groups or individuals interested in participating in the storm drain marking program can call MUB, 292-8443.  

October 2, 2007
EDITORIAL - The Dominion Post

MUB project will hold water
Plan to control storm-water runoff in Suncrest will have ripple effect.

Many proposals may never hold water in the ingoing debate on local infrastructure improvements.

However, one that will got under way last week, at a reception to mark the groundbreaking of the Morgantown Utility Board’s Burroughs Run/Poponoe Run storm-water runoff project.

The more than $9 million endeavor will feature a series of measures to control the runoff from roads and other impervious surfaces during storms, which often cause flooding and water damage in the Suncrest are of Morgantown.

After decades of seemingly swimming against the stream, a host of local and state agencies got a feel for how strong of a coordinated effort was needed to bring this plan together.

Although the planning and engineering stages are by and large complete, the actual construction has just begun.

The plan includes enlarging and adding bridges, dredging area streams and building several detention ponds in this drainage basin to allow the flood of water to be released gradually as the runoff decreases.

At a time when other infrastructure improvements in our area are mired in controversy and debate, we are encouraged to see MUB’s Burroughs Run/Poponoe Run project go forward.

Not only will this project alleviate the impact of flooding in the Burroughs Run area, which is its primary mission, but it will also improve the overall quality of water in our area.

Often as a result of flooding, when one sanitary sewer system is overwhelmed, it flows into another and the excess can sometimes eventually drain directly into the local watershed.

Due to that, this project was able to secure the first low-interest loan from the state’s Clean Water Revolving Fund, which was created in 2001 to fund storm-water utility measures.

MUB’s efforts in the Suncrest area should also lead to curbing the impact of flooding on local roadways and bridges there, allowing for other road repairs.

And even though it’s not as perceptible, this MUB project will also serve as a model for how other areas of the state that are frequently victimized by flooding from storm-water runoff, can take corrective action.

Yet, this project will be quite tangible to the neighborhoods within the Morgantown area of where their storm-water service fees are going and how MUB is serving the community.

Above all though, for hundreds, if not thousands of homeowners, business owners and others, this project should spare them the costs of repairing damages from flooding for decades to come. And not to mention, some peace of mind whenever it storms.

In the course of most streams and rivers, they rarely seem to get in a big rush. They know they’ll get to where it is they’re going some day.

Apparently, MUB’s Burroughs Run/Poponoe Run storm-water runoff project will get there sooner.

September 28, 2007
By: Cassie Shaner - The Dominion Post

MUB launches Poponoe Runoff Project
$9M effort to relieve flooding

David Goodin said he has seen three 100-year floods in his lifetime.           

Goodin, senior pastor of Morgantown’s Christian and Missionary Alliance Church, spoke at a reception Thursday to celebrate the groundbreaking of Morgantown Utility Board’s Burroughs Run/Poponoe Run storm-water project.

Because of flooding and stormwater issues, he said, the church has had to build up exterior stairwells and install floodgates to keep water out of the building during rainstorms.

“All of this cost us tens of thousands of dollars, and yet we knew that our church would never have the resources to achieve a permanent fix to this problem,” Goodin told people gathered at the WVU Erickson Alumni Center. “We knew that we were only stalling the inevitable.”

A permanent fix came this week as contractor Laurita Excavating began mobilizing equipment on Van Voorhis Road. MUB General Manager Jim Green has said the project includes construction of a variety of control measures in the Suncrest area to reroute water runoff from roadsand slow the swelling of creeks.

The project also calls for enlarging and adding bridges, dredging creeks and building several detention ponds to hold runoff.

Including planning, engineering and construction, Green said, the project will cost more than $9 million. “I’m sure the Burroughs Run neighborhood will be delighted,” MUB chairman C. Barton Loar said of the results. “It’s not a moment too soon.”

Loar said the project took years to come together and involved diplomacy and cooperation from state and local agencies, including the city of Morgantown, the state Division of Highways, the Department of Environmental Protection and the Legislature.

“We didn’t all agree on everything, but we all agreed that this needed to be fixed,” Morgantown Mayor Ron Justice said.

Gov. Joe Manchin was expected to attend the reception, but inclement weather in Parkersburg prevented him from flying to Morgantown, Green said.

“He did want me to pass along that this is a great project not only for Morgantown, but the state of West Virginia,” Green said.

Green said the Burroughs Run/Poponoe Run project will not only fix storm-water problems and prevent flooding, but also improve water quality. Because of that, the DEP issued an $8.5 million storm-water loan for the project under the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, the first such infrastructure loan since the Legislature passed the storm-water utility statute in 2001.

Deputy State Highway Engineer James Sothen said the project also will benefit the DOH, as roads in the area will no longer need repairs due to flooding. He said fewer repairs will mean more money for other road projects.

Green said the Burroughs Run/Poponoe Run storm-water improvement will serve as a “keystone project” for MUB by helping residents understand what the utility agency can do for the community.

“We’re anxious to get the project done,” Green said. I think it’s going to be great.”

In April, Morgantown City Council approved a 31.5 percent increase in MUB’s flat fee for residential dwellings to help pay for the project—from $3.63 per month to $5.30 per month.

The utility also will increase charges based on the square footage of impervious areas, generally roofs and parking surfaces of commercial and industrial properties.

Monthly rates in this category were increased from $1.45 per 1,000 square feet to $2.12, an increase of 67 cents or 31.6 percent.

September 28, 2007
By: Jad Sleiman - The Daily Athenaeum

MUB celebrates new storm water project

Officials from the state and city government met at the Erikson Alumni Center yesterday to celebrate new storm water management systems.

The systems will be built to prevent flooding in some of the areas included in the Burroughs and Popenoe Run watersheds and increase Morgantown water quality by reducing the strain on sanitary sewers.

The storm water drainage project didn’t have universal support when the Morgantown Utility Board first started engineering studies for the project in 2003.

“There was great wailing and gnashing of teeth,” Chairman of the MUB C. Barton Loar said.

“Some of the Suncrest neighborhoods didn’t think they’d see the day,” Loar said, speaking of the project’s initiation. “It’s not a moment too soon.”

Pastor David Goodwin of the CMA Church remembers having much of his church destroyed by flooding. The 33 inches of water “ripped out cinder blocks” and “bent metal doors,” Goodwin said.

Now, it has largely been paid for through an $8.5 million state revolving fund loan, and the project also had the support of substantial state and city grants. The state Department of Transportation gave $300,000 and the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection gave $250,000. With money available, the DEP simply had to “jump in and do something,” Mike Johnson of the DEP said.

The loan will be paid off through user fees based on storm drainage usage in yearly, $476,000 installments. State Senator Michael Oliverio said the traditional method of “going to Charleston to box for more money” wasn’t working and supports the user fee which the County Commission approved for the public to vote on in February.

“Are we going to be held back with a hand out waiting for help (from the state government), or find ways as local citizens to solve our problems?” Oliverio said. He also argued that measures such as the user fee were necessary because Morgantown has to compete nationally for University students. The city council also contributed to the program by granting the MUB $125,000 to cover business and occupation taxes.

Many people felt that the storm water drainage system would end up just being an “engineering project,” MUB General Manager James Green said. Despite the critics, MUB felt they needed “a keystone project,” Green said.

Green also felt the project was long overdue.

“We picked it up because of problems people were having 50 years ago,” Green said.

“You won’t find any harder working city workers in West Virginia,” Mayor Ron Justice said. “We have great leadership in the MUB.”

Justice agreed with MUB official who said the program would fix the three major problems of flooding, waste water treatment and low water quality.

“If they (the MUB) do work together they can do many things,” Justice said.

September 14, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DEP News -- Morgantown Gets State's First Stormwater Revolving Fund Loan

MORGANTOWN - The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection has issued a stormwater loan under the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, the first such infrastructure loan since the legislature passed the stormwater utility statute in 2001.

As part of the Manchin administration's ongoing infrastructure development efforts, the $8.5 million loan was given to Morgantown for the Burroughs Run and Poponoe Run Stormwater Project in the Monongahela River watershed.

The loan carries a 2 percent interest rate and a 1 percent annual administrative fee and will be repaid over a 20-year period. The total project cost is more than $9 million.
The balance of the funding came from an U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 319 grant, the West Virginia Department of Transportation grant and the city's local share.

Flooding, water quality degradation, and streambank erosion have been problems for many years in the watersheds around Morgantown, making this project one of the most critical priorities for the city and the Morgantown Utility Board.

The money will be used for stormwater improvement, restoration, and stabilization along Burroughs Run and Poponoe Run, including culvert replacement, and approximately two acres of wetland restoration.

The project will provide improvements to the stream channel to reduce flooding potential. By stabilizing the streambanks, erosion and resulting sedimentation will be reduced, improving water quality.

The contractor is Laurita Excavating, Inc. of Morgantown.
The project should be complete in March 2009.

The Morgantown Utility Board stormwater system serves 13,200 customers. The utility board also provides drinking water and sewer services to its residents as part of a combined utility operation.

September 14, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Local Wastewater Plants Receive High Honors

The National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) Peak Performance Awards recognized the Wastewater Treatment Facilities of the Morgantown Utility Board (MUB) on July 18, 2007 for their annual 100 percent compliance of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit.

The NACWA’s Executive Director, Ken Kirk, issued the 2006 Platinum 6 Award to MUB’s Star City Wastewater Treatment Facility. The MUB was one out of nine treatment facilities nationwide eligible to receive the Platinum 6 Award. Morgantown’s Cheat Lake Wastewater Treatment Facility received its first Platinum Award from NACWA.  

This recognition program consists of three categories: Platinum, Gold and Silver. Platinum is the highest award a wastewater treatment facility can achieve. Platinum Awards recognize the wastewater treatment facilities for maintaining 100 percent compliance with NPDES permits over a consecutive five year period. The Platinum Award status can be continued as long as a treatment plant maintains 100 percent permit observance.

The Utility Board’s Star City Wastewater Treatment Facility was recognized for their 100 percent compliance with the NPDES discharge permit over the last six consecutive years. The Cheat Lake Facility, recognized with their Platinum Award, has had 100 percent compliance since initial start-up in 1998, but was not eligible for these awards until 2002. The Gold Award recognizes treatment plants that have maintained a 100 percent observance of their NPDES permit for an entire calendar year. Silver Awards are awarded to plants that have received no more than five NPDES permit violations per calendar year. 

The Peak Performance Award is a very prestigious honor for municipal utilities. The employees of the Utility Board’s Star City Wastewater Treatment Facility and the Cheat Lake Facility work very hard 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to produce clean well treated water. This honor serves to emphasize the dedication and commitment the employee’s of MUB have toward protecting and maintaining the environment.  This award recognizes a job well done by devoted and skilled MUB employees.

January 23, 2007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Water Tower Improves Service on Mileground

The Morgantown City Council, Monongalia County Commission, Monongalia County Development Authority, along with MUB, jointly invested $1.2 million into building the 155-foot water tower. Begun in December 2005 by Caldwell Tanks Inc., it was completed last month and will provide a much more reliable source of water, according to MUB General Manger Jim Green . The installation included 600 feet of 16-inch pipe at the airport and an additional 2,100 feet of 12-inch pipe between the airport and the Mileground.

The Mileground service area previously was supplied via a pump system that ran almost continuously in order to maintain pressure in the distribution system. This dependency on electric pumps created an unreliable situation at times. If the power went out, the area experienced an immediate impact: reduced pressure and possible water loss to customers .

Without a storage tank, the water had to be supplied from the booster pump directly to customers. With more water use, the water pressure decreased. Likewise, when few customers used water, then the pressure increased. “The pressure bounced a lot, and that was not desirable,” Green said.

The usual way MUB’s water systems work is to have a booster pump that pumps to a tank, then the tank serves the neighborhood. Water demands are greater at certain times of the day than at others, so the tank supplies the water during those times of increased usage and then refills during the time when use slows down.

For example, there’s a high demand for water between six a.m. and eight a.m. because people are up, getting showered and ready for school and work. After that, demand falls off to a minimum while most people are away from home. Then when they return in the evening, demand increases again from around six to nine p.m. When people go to sleep and water use decreases, the tank once again refills. Gravity flow from an elevated tank like this one increases the water pressure, so regardless of the demand from customers, the pressure remains steady.