Unfortunately the “lack of water in winter issue”, since Mavis Brewster & the McDowell County PSD (Public Service District) took over our water supply, is still alive and well in McDowell County.
Those of you who saw the first post on this blog last January, may recall that the county was without water for 26 days until the media came & “miraculously” got us our water back. At the time I took & posted photos of Dan shooting a water line across the creek with a bow & arrow, something he wound up doing 6 times last winter. It seemed humorous the first time, but less and less humorous as he had to do it again and again, as the McDowell County PSD repeatedly let the water pressure drop so low that there was no way to keep the water from freezing. And now it is humorous no longer. It is a criminal fiasco of epic proportions. We are not living in the “3rd world”- and yet we are.
Today- for the 5th time in the last month- we lost water again, literally watching it go from a full flow to nothing. This time the McDowell County PSD’s excuse- relayed to us by the 911 personnel, as no one answered the telephone at the PSD– was that the ENTIRE COUNTY was without water, so at least we know 100% we’re not alone. A few days ago we were in the kitchen at 3 a.m., when the tap water (running full force, as we now have to let it do all winter), slowed to a trickle, and then stopped. Mavis Brewster of the McDowell County PSD was not only in absolute denial that there was anything wrong- as always- she lied to us repeatedly. When we called her she expressed-again- disbelief- that we had no water, saying that we are the “only” people who called to report not having water, something she states every single time we call to report that we have no water, when it is known across WV that most of McDowell County is now often without water during the winter.
We had to cancel weekend reservations for the Inn, and on Friday, Jan. 16 we again turned away guests because we had no water. We then learned that the local motel was closed as well; there was literally no lodging available for these tourists anywhere in the county!
This is not only grotesquely embarrassing for the county, it is humiliating to the State of West Virginia.
That time we had no water for 5 days- until my husband, Dan- aged 62 with a bad back and an aneurysm- was able to dig a trench and lay yet another water line. He has not yet been able to complete the project as the weather has been too cold, and as a result of this we are now also dealing with busted pipes, resultant flooding, and at least one toilet that must be replaced. We hold the McDowell County PSD and Mavis Brewster personally and totally responsible for this entire fiasco and all its costs, both physical and financial.
Mavis Brewster of the McDowell County PSD twice told us that “someone was coming to check the meter to see if there was water pressure” and told Dan that this had been done and that there was “nothing wrong” with it. Not only did we never see anyone from the McDowell county PSD on our property, but in the process of working on our water line again, Dan opened the meter and there was a hole in it with water shooting out!
This winter the no-water situation, coupled with the lies and refusal to rectify it, has been devastating- and this was NOT the case when Kimball Water controlled our water for the first 5 years of our lives here.
I again emailed everyone I could think of in the WV media and the Rural Water Association, as I still have a glimmer of hope that they can put sufficient pressure on Ms. Brewster and the McDowell County PSD to rectify this fiasco. If you would like to help, and know of appropriate people to contact and to forward this blog post to, please do so.
Sincerely,
Elisse Clark
