By Richard Kerns
rkerns@newstribune.info
Tribune Staff Writer
KEYSER — Prodded by a customer who pays for his water while neighbors receive theirs for free, the city of Keyser is moving to install water meters on eight homes along Limestone Road that have never paid for their city-treated water.
Addressing the matter at a recent meeting of the Keyser Water Baord, city officials said the residents of the old Warnick Farm area maintain that the city long ago agreed to provide free water when it ran a water main through the area from the old Limestone Dam.
“They feel the original deed allows them to have free access to water from the water line going through their properties,” said Sonny Gank, supervisor of water distribution for Keyser.
Gank said he has never been provided a deed that has such a provision. However, the city attorney has not been able to research the status of the deeds, so the city has been unable to move forward on metering the properties.
Don Kesner, who lives in the area of the Warnick Farm and pays for his water, says it’s a simple matter of fairness: Either charge the families that are getting their water for free, or give him the same consideration. “If they’re going to continue to get free water, I should too,” he said. “That’s the way it
should be.”
In addition to lost revenue, the Warnick Farm area also represents a significant drain in terms of lost water.
City officials said water usage in the larger Hollywood Road/Limestone area averages about 6,000 gallons a day during spring, summer and fall. However, in the winter months usage more than triples. With no meters city officials can’t be sure, but they speculate that the Warnick residents are running water continuously so that their individual service lines — some of which run above ground — don’t freeze.
“Our water loss is bad enough (throughout the system),” Gank said. “We don’t really have an idea how much we’re losing out there.”
Bill Friend, a member of the Keyser Water Board, said the residents in question don’t worry about keeping the lines open in winter because they don’t pay for the water. He urged city officials to resolve the matter. “I don’t think someone wants to step on some toes out there, but they need to,” he said.
Keyser Mayor Glen “Bunk” Shumaker said the burden of proof should be on the residents to show that they have a right to free water. “I don’t know what recourse they would have if we just put taps on it, and go from there,” he said.
Kesner said the matter should not be allowed to continue indefinitely. “There should be something done about it, and it shouldn’t be years down the road to do it,” he said.
William “Sonny” Rhodes, a councilman and member of the Water Board, said the city will address the issue. “We’ll look into putting meters on and then go from there,” he said.
Keyser, W.Va. —
