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DAVISVILLE — The Claywood Park Public Service District held a public meeting in Davisville as part of its 2026 triennial review of the district’s Source Water Protection Plan, a required update focused on safeguarding public drinking water and maintaining emergency preparedness.

The review is required under state law for utilities that use surface water or groundwater under the direct influence of surface water. The mandate stems from legislation enacted following the 2014 chemical spill that contaminated the Elk River and disrupted water service for hundreds of thousands of West Virginia American Water customers.

Officials explained that the Source Water Protection Plan primarily serves as an internal operational and emergency-response document rather than a publicly distributed report, due to sensitive infrastructure and security information.

Erica Johnson, a geographic information system (GIS) analyst who works with the district on source water protection planning, said the 2026 review reflects relatively minor updates. She said this is the district’s third three-year review and that most changes involved updating data, maps and personnel listings.

Johnson emphasized that continuous monitoring and coordination with emergency agencies remain the foundation of the district’s protection strategy. Water quality is routinely sampled at the treatment plant, and established relationships with county emergency services, the local health department and state spill notification systems ensure rapid communication if a spill occurs.

The Claywood Park PSD primarily relies on surface water sources. Johnson said GIS mapping plays a key role in identifying and tracking potential contamination risks within the source water protection area. The mapping system is updated regularly and incorporates data from state and local agencies.

All maps and source lists used in the 2026 review were updated with current data from the West Virginia Source Water Protection Map Viewer, maintained by the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources Office of Environmental Health Services.

As part of the update, the district documented additional regulated and potential pollution sources within the protection area, including two additional Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) facilities, four additional abandoned wells and four additional National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System outfalls. Those outfalls include three home aeration units and one stormwater discharge.

The review also identified 14 additional NPDES permits, including nine septic tank seals, three home aeration units, one stormwater permit and one septic disposal connection to a publicly owned treatment works.

Gwen Sour can be reached at gsour@newsandsentinel.com