2026-11-12 Water Advisory Meeting

The Jefferson County Water Advisory Committee met on November 12, 2026, with extensive public comment focused on groundwater protection. Residents and technical professionals urged the county to commission a comprehensive groundwater-availability study covering the county, arguing that karst geology and interconnected groundwater make localized evaluations or predictive modeling alone insufficient. Committee members discussed defining the study’s goals, deliverables, scope, and cost, as well as public education and regional collaboration. No study contract, vendor selection, purchase, or funding allocation was approved. One commenter estimated a countywide study could cost just under $100,000, but that was not an official estimate or committee decision. Members discussed timing considerations, including possible legislative funding and the need to enter a USGS queue by October 1, 2027, and agreed to revisit the water-study work plan and objectives at a future meeting, including in January after new county commissioners take office.

The committee also discussed a USGS water-use study covering parts of West Virginia and Virginia, which a member said was funded by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection and expected in December; it was described as a precursor to a later availability study, not a county procurement. The committee approved minutes and approved answers to the county commission’s technical question 4 on environmental impacts of sewer sites, with plans to present the technical-question materials to the commission. These actions did not involve contract awards or purchasing decisions.