By Marsha Chwalik

It wasn’t the north versus the south- more like the valley versus the
mountain
Monday night as the idea of pulling water from one to share with another
got
the Jefferson County Public Service District’s full attention.
    At issue was the so-called Mountain Water Project - set to
provide
water to about 350 residents in areas like Keyes Ferry Acres, Harpers
Ferry
Campsites, and the Westridge Hills Subdivision by tapping into water
sources
in the valley.
    A report, by Golder Associates, out of Richmond, Va., indicated
the
aquifers in the valley could handle the extra load. 
    One Keyes Ferry Acres resident told the board it was time to take
action since residents of the mountain community had suffered with
inadequate
water for years, but several valley residents said their water sources
were
already diminishing and said the full environmental impact of the idea
hadn‘t
been scrutinized. In a letter read to the board, the mayor of Harpers
Ferry
even threatened to sue should the idea go through.
    Other speakers, like Jacquelyn Milliron (Mil’- Ir-on) of the
Breckenridge Subdivision, said she believes the Mountain
residents ‘should’
get adequate water, but questioned the district’s methods - and the
expense to
water customers.  By her estimates, her bill could go up exponentially:
-SOT Milliron - water rates to spike “Our water rates will go up 220-
percent
when it’s all said and done, and we’re going to also receive between 30
and 40
percent increase in our sewer rates on top of that…”
        Board members Lyn Widmyer and Jim Cummins were concerned
the
study hadn’t adequately taken into consideration other ways to bring
water to
the mountain residents. In the end, the draft document was not approved.
    The next item on the agenda was whether or not to submit a grant
request application to the West Virginia Infrastructure and Jobs
Development
Council to fund the Mountain Water Project. 
    The board heard from more than one proponent who said if the
application didn’t go through soon, funding for the idea would dry up. 
Among
them were mountain resident Fred Blackmer who says the residents in his
part
of the county deserve adequate water:
Blackmer-no fire protection
He says it‘s  a problem that‘s been brewing for more than 20 years:
SOT - Blackmer-clock ticking (more delays mean a 7-million dollar grant
could
be lost for the project…)
    In the end, the board could not muster enough votes to send the
application through.  Board Chairman Joseph Hankins did ‘not’ rule out
revisiting the idea at a future meeting.
    Jefferson County Commissioner Lyn Widmyer vowed to look into
alternative water sources for the mountain residents.

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