DESCRIBING PROJECT — Jesse Alden, project manager from the Thrasher Group, addressed Weirton Council during a presentation of the scope of the planned water distribution replacement project following Monday’s council meeting. -- Craig Howell

WEIRTON — While Weirton water officials continue their work to refine the scale and potential costs of a project ordered by the West Virginia Public Service Commission to replace the water distribution lines in the city, they also hope the PSC might reconsider some aspects of its order given new information.

Representatives of the Weirton Area Water Board and the Thrasher Group offered a presentation on the project following Monday’s Weirton Council meeting held in the Weirton Room of the Millsop Community Center.

The distribution line project is among work ordered by the PSC as a result of its investigation into city-wide water issues between December 2024 and February 2025 with city water officials working since July to plan such an endeavor currently estimated to cost $190 million.

“We felt it would be good to share the information,” Utilities Director A.D. “Butch” Mastrantoni said.

Jesse Alden, project manager from Thrasher, said the order was received from the PSC in July with local officials beginning work in August.

“We’ve been moving throughout,” Alden said, noting that work has included locating all of the galvanized and cast-iron pipes, estimated at around 500,000 linear feet, in the existing system.

Preliminary plans also have included looking into possible funding sources, whether through state or federal grants or loans, Congressionally Directed Spending packages, rate increases or other avenues, and the possibility of breaking the project into sections or phases in order to get a better price and increase the number of potential bidders.

“A $190 million project, all at once, is very difficult to find funding for,” Alden said, noting additional field work is still needed to finalize some of their numbers.

Under the timeline ordered by the PSC, the distribution system replacement must be completed by June 2029, with Alden explaining designs most likely won’t be finalized until May 2027 and actual construction beginning in June 2028.

Mastrantoni noted the city of Weirton is spread across 18 square miles with several elevation changes and a need to replace pumps, valves, some meters and other components, in addition to pipes.

“Weirton’s distribution system is significantly challenged,” he said.

Given the scope, officials plan to meet with the engineering and legal division of the PSC, beginning next week, to present the updated information with the hope of either a reduced scale for the project, or possibly a lengthened timeline.

“It’s more of a reconsideration,” noted the board’s legal counsel Dan Guida, explaining even the PSC had originally thought such a project would only cost around $30 million. “We want to go back and kind of get re-sentenced.”

Alden said he knew of no other municipality in West Virginia to ever be ordered to complete such a large-scale project within five years as has been done in Weirton.

Ward 4 Councilman Rick Stead agreed it was a tall order, noting there is the potential for even higher costs when incorporating inflation and other issues.

“We’re looking at potentially a quarter-billion-dollar project,” he said. “It’s kind of a harsh treatment.”

Ward 7 Councilman Chris Jonczak asked if the order to replace all of the cast-iron and galvanized pipe was related to any health concerns, with Mastrantoni saying it was his understanding the PSC was more concerned about the reliability of the older material.

In more recent years, the Weirton Water Board has focused on the use of PVC piping in the distribution system, implementing a phased replacement program whenever funding has been available.