WVAW gets new Oak Hill digs

Steve Keenan, The Register-Herald, Beckley, W.Va.
·2 min read

Feb. 27—OAK HILL — West Virginia American Water officials made a move last week that is expected to result in more efficiency for water customers in the company's Oak Hill district.

WVAW moved its Oak Hill Operations Center from a location near CAMC Plateau Medical Center to a different building at 550 Industrial Drive formerly occupied by the Mine Safety and Health Administration.

Company employees, Fayette County Chamber of Commerce board members and local community and business leaders took part in the Thursday, Feb. 22, ribbon cutting/open house. Among those on hand were WVAW President Rob Burton and Becky Sullivan, executive director of the Fayette County Chamber of Commerce.

Brian Janney, senior supervisor of operations for the Oak Hill district for WVAW, said the move to the 20,000-square-foot building will lead to "better technology amenities being in an industrial park."

Also, Janney said, the relocation makes sense safety-wise. "At the hospital, we were always afraid of being in an ambulance's way or something. It was really congested with parking and traffic."

In leaving the downtown site, WVAW departed an "older facility that had been there for a really long time underneath the tank site."

"Here, we've expanded," Janney said. "The amount of customers and our employees have pretty much doubled over the past 25-30 years. We just needed a better facility to put some of our equipment under roof and protect it from the elements.

"We're just happy to be growing."

Daily operations overseen by Janney and about 12 employees dispatch potable water to around 14,000 combined residential and commercial customers in Fayette County, he said. The Oak Hill district covers from Glen Jean north on U.S. Rte. 19 to Arrowwood Creek Road, and down W.Va. Rte. 61 to Robson.

A separate wastewater facility is located in Fayetteville. Water is treated at the New River Treatment Facility on Bachman Road. "We pump about 2.3 to 2.5 million gallons of water a day through our system," said Janney.

There is "room for growth," he added. "This really will help our efficiency, but, yes, we also have room for growth."

"We're always happy to see growth and change in our county," said Sullivan.

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