Source: United States Senator for West Virginia Joe Manchin
Beckley, WV – Today, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) attended a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee field hearing on water and wastewater infrastructure in Beckley, West Virginia.
“I’ve always said that every West Virginian and American deserves fresh air to breathe and clean water to drink, but more than 30% of West Virginia households aren’t connected to centralized water and wastewater systems,” said Senator Manchin. “I’ve been proud to lead and support legislative efforts that have resulted in historic investments in water and wastewater infrastructure. I fought to ensure that the $678 million our cities and counties received from the American Rescue Plan could be used to upgrade water, sewer and other vital infrastructure projects. I’m proud of these investments to support and improve our water infrastructure, but there is still more that we need to do. Today’s field hearing is a good step, and I’m committed to working with my bipartisan colleagues to address the needs of our communities.”
The West Virginia Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers assigned the state’s infrastructure an overall grade of ‘D’ in its 2020 Report Card, with several components nearing the end of their service life. Bridges (D+), dams (D), drinking water (D), wastewater (D), and roads (D+) all rated by civil engineers.