West Virginia Public Service Commission Investigating Paden City Water System
Shelley Hanson Trending
PADEN CITY -- The West Virginia Public Service Commission is concerned that the most recent water contamination issues in Paden City, along with previous bouts of contamination, may point to a larger problem. On Friday, the PSC announced that it had opened an investigation into the city's water system.
On a motion from legal staff from Oct. 4, the PSC agreed to consider whether Paden City and its municipal water works are distressed or failing utilities.
Residents and businesses in the city spent nearly a month between August and September unable to drink, bathe or cook with city water after a pump valve malfunctioned at the water treatment plant. The issue allowed increased levels of a chemical commonly used in dry cleaning -- tetrachloroethylene or PCE -- to enter the system.
The PSC's legal staff said it had discovered through investigation that Paden City residents have dealt with PCE contamination issues for years.
"The assertions put forth by staff justify further examination of the utilities' ongoing contaminant issue, particularly with regard to whether the utilities are capable of ensuring the effective treatment of the contaminant and whether additional issues exist regarding the fiscal, managerial and operational conditions of the utilities," the PSC order said.
"Ensuring that state residents have access to clean water is one of the essential duties of the Public Service Commission, which is why we take these cases so seriously," PSC Chairman Charlotte Lane said. "This warrants our investigation to determine the facts."
Paden City Mayor Steve Kastigar could not be reached for comment Friday afternoon.
PCE has been detected as early as 2010 in the city's water, and again in 2017 and 2020. An air stripper tower was installed in 2020 to remove the PCE, but a power outage in July led to a valve issue, allowing the chemical to enter the system again.
Residents were told in August that, due to the valve malfunction, the contaminant had been entering the water since at least July 19. The national drinking water standard is 5 parts per billion. Paden City's sample on July 19 was at 30 ppb. The do not use order lasted from Aug. 16 until Sept. 12. Within that time frame, the city flushed its water system multiple times.
Paden City is a municipal utility that provides sewer service to 1,161 customers. The Paden City Municipal Water Works provides water utility service to 1,204 customers in Wetzel and Tyler counties.