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City of Weirton Is Failing Its Residents

In 2025, who among us would consider facing the challenges those living in Weirton will have for at least the next few weeks: little to no water coming from the tap.

City officials there have said numerous water line breaks have so impacted the water system that pressure to homes and businesses has suffered. Water storage tanks are empty. Schools have been closed due to no water; businesses have been forced to close — hopefully, only temporarily. The city’s Restaurant Week celebration had to be delayed.

And there’s little to no relief in sight.

The Weirton Water Board “is confident that the water supply and pressure issues will stabilize as the broken water lines are identified and repaired,” a notice sent last week states. “However, identifying the broken water lines is more complicated since the ground has been frozen solid, water leaks that would commonly surface are not surfacing, and other leak detection methods typically used by the water department are not as effective.”

That’s a terrible excuse. Perhaps the department needs to enter the 21st century and upgrade its technology, or find folks who understand how to operate a municipal water system. It’s not as if the ground doesn’t freeze every winter.

It’s long been understood in Weirton that when the city had a problem, leaders simply could rely on Weirton Steel to bail them out. Those days are gone — long gone. It’s past time for those same leaders to now step forward and demand accountability for the city’s residents and businesses.

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