By Caity Coyne, Charleston Gazette-Mail
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia water systems lost more than $14.4 million last year treating and processing drinking water that never made it to a faucet, a Gazette-Mail analysis found.
An average of nearly a fourth of water flowing through West Virginia’s crumbling infrastructure is lost through leaks or main breaks before reaching customers, according to the most recent annual reports filed by 261 of the state’s 295 public water systems.
This leaves tens of thousands of people relying on potentially dangerous, unreliable water services. Necessary fixes statewide could cost billions of dollars with no one quite sure where to find the money.
“It’s been tough for years, decades, but it’s real tough right now,” said Thomas Evans, mayor of Oceana. “We’re trying to put out there that we’re dealing with our problems as best we can, but we’re asking the people that live here to put up with a lot.” …