Advocacy

ADVOCACY— means to support, encourage, to back; to benefit those who cannot act for themselves. The West Virginia Ministry of ADVOCACY and Workcamps seeks to act on behalf of others to make a difference in communities as well as for individuals.

In cleaning up after the flooding in 2001 in McDowell County, another disaster was brought to light to many volunteers: there was more than just mud in the “mud out” clean up. In McDowell County 67% of all wastewater is straight-piped directly from homes directly into the rivers and streams.

Pipes discharge sewage into stream

Brief history of McDowell County

In 1960, the County population was about 100,000, with coal mining as the only industry. From 1960 to 1985 several major coal producing corporations closed the mines and moved out of the county. With few jobs in McDowell County many people moved away to find employment. When the mining corporations left the County, they did not leave in place an infrastructure to maintain and develop water and wastewater treatment facilities.

The current population of McDowell County is approximately 22,000. McDowell County residents are among the nation’s poorest in terms of income; there are many citizens without high school educations; about 80% of all school children come from homes that are below the poverty level; current housing is grossly inadequate and substandard.

STATISTICS OF MCDOWELL COUNTY IN RELATION TO WASTEWATER

Only four towns in McDowell County have wastewater treatment facilities–Welch, War, Bradshaw, and Gary. These four facilities account for 25% of the population.
8% of homes have approved septic systems.
Less than 1% is served by wastewater package plants.
67% of the households in McDowell County lack wastewater treatment.
For those without treatment systems, the wastewater is discharged into the streams.
All streams and rivers in McDowell County are seriously polluted with fecal matter.

THE WASTEWATER TREATMENT COALITION

In June 2003, WV Ministry of Advocacy and Workcamps, along with a group of interested citizens of McDowell County, and individuals representing the Canaan Valley Institute in Davis, WV, F.A.C.E.S., the McDowell County Health Department, the Elkhorn Watershed Association, McDowell Parks and Recreation, WVU Extension, The Council of the Southern Mountains, the McDowell Rural Health Advisory Council and others came together to for the McDowell County Wastewater Treatment Coalition to:

Develop a County-wide plan for treating wastewater.
Clean up our rivers and streams.
Bring affordable treatment systems to McDowell County
Improve living conditions for the citizens of the County.

WVMAW Involvement in Wastewater Issues

In 2004 Presbyterian Disaster Assistance helped to fund an alternative wastewater treatment system demonstration project in the Big Sandy Head Start Center in Big Sandy, WV. An interpretive sign has been placed to help educate the public about the system, noting that funding was through Presbyterian Disaster Assistance.

In March 2005, the Coalition published the Wastewater Treatment Plan for McDowell County, WV in which all areas of the County–towns and rural areas–were assessed and a prioritized plan developed for providing wastewater treatment for the entire County. WVMAW was able, through grants through the PCUSA, to provide funding for this publication. An update was published in 2007 for which we provided partial funding as well.

WVMAW has been able to provide partial funding for hiring a VISTA worker for the Wastewater Treatment Coalition. This worker helps to coordinate WTC activities and education in McDowell County.

The Wastewater Treatment Coalition of McDowell County Newsletter - Spring 2009

Ashland, West Virginia Implementation—a beginning

Ashland, WV is located at the headwaters of the Elkhorn Creek. A small community of about 21 houses, the WTC chose to put in an alternative wastewater treatment system technically called a Septic Tank Effluent Gravity collection system with constructed wetland treatment cells. An oversimplified explanation is that the system works by pumping effluent uphill to a drain field that has low pressure pipe dispersal, working like a giant septic system. This alternative system was designed by Canaan Valley Institute engineers, along with contracted assistance from Stafford Engineering and consultation with Maxim Engineering.

Because the drain field is located in a wetlands area of the mountain, it is important to keep the area as natural as possible. Bringing in machinery to dig the ditches would disturb the natural lay of the land and the trees. It was decided that volunteers could help to dig the drain field and thus cause as little damage to the environment as possible.

Three groups of volunteers spent their 2008 spring breaks helping implement this system. Students from Notre Dame University spend a week each spring and fall with WVMAW as they experience the “immersion phase” of their class on Appalachia. After orienting the students to the wastewater project, they spent most of the week clearing brush and green briar, and began digging some of the drain field. The following week volunteers from First Presbyterian Church, Granville Ohio, and then students from the Holy Ghost Prep School in PA, continued to dig the first quarter of the drain field, lay the drainage pipe and gravel, and get it covered. Ed Winant, Engineer and designer of the project from Canaan Valley Institute, and Harry Drake, Site Supervisor from WVMAW oversaw the labor.

Moving rocks and stumps Clearing brush to dig

Several groups that will be coming to WV in June have been contacted about continuing this work project. We have been overwhelmed at the positive response from most of them. We will have alternative projects in place, but many of the teams that will stay in Welch and Bluefield in the month of June will help to finish digging the drain field.

Completion of construction is projected for October, 2008.

Funding for the total project is coming in part from Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, (funds have been in place and held since 2004 for implementation of a wastewater treatment project),Other funds that have been secured include WV Department of Environmental Protection, the McDavid Foundation, SAFE Housing and Economic Development, Canaan Valley Institute, and WV Stream Partners program, and a possible grant from the Governor’s Partnership. Final hook up will be funded by individual homeowners.

Gravel Chute for construction

Dave Clark, Engineer with Canaan Valley Institute and representative with the Wastewater Treatment Coalition was pleased with the collaboration of volunteers through WVMAW. He said, “…the work with WMAW and the recent volunteers is unprecedented in WV. This is a phenomenal model that has enormous potential, I think. I honestly believe that the last three weeks have done as much to further the cause than anything else we’ve done.”

Stories to aid in interpretation

Ashland, WV: We certainly had our doubts about arranging for groups to dig ditches all week. We worried about the weather; we worried about whiners; we worried about having an alternative project; we worried about them getting the chance to build relationships with folks in the community. What a waste of time to worry! The kids had to be forced off the mountain in the rain by the site supervisor and the engineer in charge—they wanted to finish the job. People in the community and people in the Wastewater Treatment Coalition took time to visit with them and thank them for what they were doing to make a difference. No one whined that the job was too much. (That alone is a miracle in itself!)

Most of the volunteers who come to WV are from privileged backgrounds. It was inconceivable to them that people living in the United States did not have wastewater treatment and they found it appalling that expelling sewage into the rivers and streams was acceptable practice in so many places. It was equally inconceivable to many that funding to help communities obtain wastewater treatment was so difficult to obtain. When I asked one student what he was going to tell people back home that he did on his spring break, he very seriously said. “I helped a community clean up their creek. And I hope that it will inspire the communities down stream to do the same thing.” Another student said she felt like she was really doing something that made a difference to a whole community.

I asked one group why in the world would a Christian work camp get involved in digging ditches for wastewater treatment. Their responses were enthusiastic, and the gist of them was because God wants us to take care of the earth!

Notre Dame students came to a Wastewater Treatment Coalition meeting held in Welch during the week that they visited. There they met with several of the members, and got the opportunity to talk with people who live in the county, to ask questions, and to get a lot of thanks for what they were doing to help implement the project. Inspired by the coalition and concerned about the future of the project, the students discussed a project of their own to help. They discussed a plan to raise funds to set up a scholarship for families who cannot afford the connection fee to the new system. The scholarship will be given to a fiduciary agent for the coalition to manage. Our blessing is the students who think beyond their own work efforts for the week and into the future of a community that can be the front runner of the implemented plan.

THE FUTURE: PROPOSED SOLUTIONS TO WASTEWATER TREATMENT IN MCDOWELL COUNTY

The County is a mixture of ten incorporated towns, with the majority of the people living in rural areas, some in clustered unincorporated towns and many with few or no other homes around them.

A variety of treatment plans must be utilized with our geographic mix:

Sewer Line Extensions. In some areas, extending large sewer lines from existing municipal systems or package plants to outlying communities will be the solution.
Onsite Systems. Some areas will require traditional septic systems, which should also allow for secondary treatment options for individual homes.
Onsite/Cluster Systems. There is a need for a possible combination of individual home treatment systems, which might include clustering several homes together to a shared treatment system.
Package Plants. This is a centralized sewage treatment system for a small community.

All four of the wastewater treatment options may be under construction at the same time, if financing is available.

CONCLUSION

McDowell County has rivers and streams that offer prime recreational sport fishing, and trails and accessible woodlands for camping and other activities, all making this region ripe for tourism. Yet without cleaning up the rivers and streams and responsibly addressing wastewater treatment it is not possible for McDowell County to move forward. WVMAW has chosen to become involved on the grounds of social justice--to help make a difference in communities so that individuals may thrive. Furthermore, stewardship of the earth calls us to clean up our rivers and streams and care for the beautiful gifts that God has given to us.