KEYSTONE, WV (WOAY) – The town of Keystone received some good news today regarding its long time issues with its water system.
Community members and leaders gathered in Keystone today for an important meeting. After a recent story aired nationally regarding its water system, it’s finally starting to get the attention that its long been searching for.
“The city of Keystone, for a very long time, has suffered with infrastructure,” said 26th District Delegate Ed Evans. “Water is the big problem. Sewage is a problem. It’s been ignored. The state has ignored it. The feds have ignored it, and I can no longer allow that to happen.”
A big sign of progress was bringing in an engineer from a rotary company in New Jersey to specify where the issues lie.
“I see a lot of deferred maintenance,” said Paramus Rotary Vice President Klas Haglad. “I see things that are working, and you are distributing water. But due to leaks, the water is moving so quickly that it can’t be chemically treated.”
There are several levels of groups involved in the outlook for this situation, from Rotary International on up to the city, and hopefully the public service district.
“We have started,” Evans said. “We have a commitment from Rotary International to step up to the plate. They sent an engineer here. The first time we’ve had an engineer actually look at the problem. I don’t care what the problem is, if you don’t see it, you can’t fix it. You can’t begin to fix it.”
There is a ways to go before Keystone has a sustainable and healthy water system, but today will hopefully be looked back on as a turning point after a long period of frustration.