Davy sewer project under floodplain review, seeks comments on plans

A proposed sewer system in Davy could reshape daily life for about 95 households, but first the town must clear a federal floodplain review because part of the work would sit along the Tug Fork River. The plan calls for roughly 60,000 linear feet of sewer line, service connections, grinder pumps, multiple lift stations and a package wastewater treatment facility, a basic utility upgrade that could affect where people can build, live and use property in one of McDowell County’s most utility-starved communities.

The public notice, dated April 30 and published May 4, says the Davy Sanitary Sewer Project Step I is being reviewed under HUD Part 58 floodplain procedures and Executive Order 11988. The notice says the project area would disturb an estimated 20 to 35 acres, mostly along existing roadway rights of way and previously disturbed corridors, with a small treatment-plant site planned within the 100-year floodplain. Written comments are due by May 15, giving residents, agencies and other interested groups a short window to raise concerns, suggest alternatives outside the floodplain, or propose ways to reduce environmental impacts before work can move ahead.

The sewer project is meant to do more than add pipes. According to state and local notices, it is intended to eliminate failing septic systems and direct discharges, improve water quality and provide reliable wastewater service to a town that would be getting its first centralized system. That matters in a place where septic failures and inadequate wastewater handling can affect home health, stream quality, property values and the long-term stability of neighborhoods and businesses.

The project also fits into a longer run of planning in Davy. Records from the West Virginia Infrastructure and Jobs Development Council show earlier applications in 2022 and 2023, including a Davy Sewer Project, Phase I and a Davy Sewer Project, Step II, alongside a Davy Water Project. In February, Governor Patrick Morrisey announced $2.75 million in Abandoned Mine Land Economic Revitalization funding for the Town of Davy Sewer Project, describing it as the town’s first centralized wastewater system. State officials said the money would help replace failing septic systems and eliminate raw sewage discharges.

Davy’s sewer push is unfolding alongside other utility work in the town, and after the February 2025 flooding that damaged water and sewer infrastructure across McDowell County. That history helps explain why a utility site in or near the floodplain is drawing formal scrutiny before construction can start. Comments on the sewer review are being sent to Kenneth Gentry, mayor, through Region I Planning & Development Council in Princeton.