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Fairmont officials say wastewater overhaul could top $1 billion; city seeks grants and federal help
Summary
City leaders warned that Fairmont’s aging wastewater system needs extensive upgrades — including a roughly $200 million new treatment plant and an estimated $1 billion-plus systemwide overhaul — and outlined grant applications, a $17 million Morgantown Avenue upgrade and congressional funding requests.
City Manager Travis Blosser and Mayor Dr. Ann Balliard said Fairmont must make massive investments to upgrade an aging wastewater system exposed by a June storm that dumped nearly 4 inches of rain in under 30 minutes.
"At our treatment plant on Howard Avenue, we anticipate that these enhancements alone will cost around $200,000,000, effectively necessitating the construction of a brand new plant," Blosser said during the State of the City address. He later emphasized the scale: "I didn't misspeak. That's billion with a b."
Blosser said the city’s broader sewer and stormwater network will need substantial replacements and that cumulative costs could exceed $1,000,000,000. The city is pursuing a mix of funding sources, he said: a planned $17,000,000 storm‑system upgrade on Morgantown Avenue to go out to bid this fall (a project in partnership with the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection), aggressive FEMA grant applications to repair long‑neglected culverts, and a push for congressionally directed spending.
"We're aggressively pursuing FEMA grants to repair long neglected storm water culverts that have caused problems for decades," Balliard said, thanking emergency responders, Fairmont State University for opening shelter space and the United Way for coordinating relief after the storm.
Blosser told the audience the city’s grant team has applied for more than $30,000,000 in pending grants this year and that Fairmont officials recently met with members of the congressional delegation to advocate for approximately $4,000,000 in targeted requests, including funds for the Watson Fire substation and a citywide façade improvement grant program.
Officials said the scale of the wastewater program will likely require rate increases but vowed to pursue every available grant and partnership to reduce the burden on ratepayers.
Next steps: Blosser said the Morgantown Avenue upgrade will be bid this fall and that staff will continue to pursue state and federal grants and congressional requests while installing flow meters to better scope future projects.
