Oct 8, 2002 3 min read

Water isn’t something that we give much thought to unless something goes wrong. Too little rain and we are told to conserve. Too much rain and basements flood. But those are aberrations to daily life. Fayette County has been blessed with two rivers, the Youghiogheny and Monongahela, and enough tributaries to supply those on municipal water lines with enough clean drinking water as needed. Turn the tap and it’s there. Not much to think about.

But those who aren’t on municipal systems that still rely on wells and cisterns do think about water. Nearly every township in Fayette has listened to gripes from residents wanting to know if and when waterlines will be extended to their areas and at what cost.

The water crisis facing Fayette is that of extending waterlines to areas left dry and to making sure that adequate water flows into areas set aside for development.

The crisis is not whether the Yough Dam will capture enough water to provide for homes and businesses into the next century. A draft report prepared by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to decide whether the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County can draw millions of gallons more each year from the Yough satisfies that question.

The Corps determined that it could release an additional 3.2 billion gallons a year without draining the dam and still meet its primary obligation of releasing enough flow to keep the Monongahela navigational for barges.

That should settle the unease of Fayette Countians who are worried that Westmoreland is planning to steal Fayette’s water to serve its growing population and businesses. There has been concern that if Fayette booms, growth will be cut short because there won’t be enough water to sustain development. The report suggests that Fayette can relax. The Corps won’t just turn the spigot on for Westmoreland and shut it off on Fayette.

Yet county Commissioner Sean Cavanagh is convinced that Fayette needs to act now and purchase future watering rights.

If Fayette were awash in enough cash to speculate on development 50 to 100 years down the road as Cavanagh wishes then there would be little harm to this approach. But at this point it is foolish to spend money on possible future water needs when so many homes now lack water.

Cavanagh and the other commissioners should be working with township supervisors and local water authorities to upgrade treatment plants and extend waterlines to outlying areas. Unless this effort is continued it won’t matter whether the water goes to Westmoreland or flows into the Mon in McKeesport. Fayette won’t need any more than its current draw.