Member Highlight: Elks Run Watershed Group

In this member highlight, the Coalition’s West Virginia State Lead, Maria Russo, sits down with Steve Paradis, a Public Works Administrator for Harpers Ferry and member of Elks Run Watershed Group. The following was edited for length and clarity.

Steve Paradis serves as the Public Works Administrator for Harpers Ferry, West Virginia and is an integral member of the Safe Water Harpers Ferry and Elks Run Watershed Group. The Elks Run Watershed Group is one of many West Virginia members of the Choose Clean Water Coalition. As the West Virginia State Lead of the Choose Clean Water Coalition, I sat down with Steve to ask him a few questions about his role in protecting the Elks Run and providing clean water for the region.

Background

Steve's primary responsibility is to oversee Harpers Ferry Water Works, which provides drinking water to over 1400 customers across Harpers Ferry, Bolivar, and nearby parts of the larger Jefferson County area. They sell, on average, 3.5 million gallons of water per month and provide water for fire services in the region. The primary source of water is the Elks Run, which totals 7.9 miles in length and drains approximately 18.1 square miles, or 11,598 acres. Steve shared that they are making efforts to educate their customer base about their drinking water source and about conservation efforts, to protect and ultimately improve the quality of what is coming out of the tap.

Facing a Drought

In the summer of 2023, Harpers Ferry Water Works faced a great challenge when low flows forced them to switch the primary water source from Elks Run to the Potomac River. Steve shared that it was the first time in years that anyone at the facility could remember having to switch the source out of necessity.

When I spoke to Steve, it had been more than three months since they had been pulling water from the Potomac, which was presenting challenges for him and his team. While the production facility has experienced upgrades in recent years, Steve said that this switch highlighted additional infrastructure improvements that would be necessary to ensure equipment redundancy and water availability for the communities they serve. He told me that nearly everything is different between the Elks Run and the Potomac River: “the chemistry, the chemicals and ingredients needed, it is a whole different mix.” According to him, they get a much better, cheaper product when able to pull from the Elks Run, and he was hoping for some sustained rain events to be able to restore the drinking water source from the river to the run.

Recent Successes

Amidst the challenges, the partners in the region continue to work towards progress. In the fall of 2023, Harpers Ferry was awarded WV Rivers Coalition's designation as a Source Water Protection Community, awarded to utilities for taking an active role in protecting their drinking water supply. Harpers Ferry completed education projects alongside community organizations, many of whom are members of the Choose Clean Water Coalition. Over the last few years, these projects have included watershed education for elementary schoolers, a “virtual tour” of Harpers Ferry Water Works, septic pumping information to residents, an Earth Day event, tree plantings, and a rain barrel workshop.

A few of the partnering groups who made these efforts possible include Elks Run Watershed Group, Potomac Valley Audubon Society, Blue Ridge Watershed Coalition, WV Conservation Agency, Eastern Panhandle Conservation District, WV Department of Health and Human Resources, Chesapeake Bay Program, The Downstream Project, and Jefferson County Parks and Recreation.

When I asked Steve about the importance of a coalition and the significance of this award, he stated:

"[This award] certainly helps raise awareness about Elks Run. It shows people how important it is to know where their water comes from. People tend to take their water for granted. You open the tap, you expect it to taste good, to be nice and clear, and to not pay much for it… because it is just water. What people do not realize is how much work goes into getting that water to them. And how important it is for us all to work together to protect this source.”

I hope this award, these group's efforts encourage more water customers, and more residents to get involved with protecting this water."

Looking to the Future

As we closed out our interview, Steve was equally excited about the upgrades to the production facility (electronic meter system, using technology to reduce unaccounted-for water) as he was about working together to protect the source of our drinking water.

"This is the beauty of the network. We have to work together. What we are doing here locally may not affect us, but we've got to focus on the bigger picture, to recognize you are part of something bigger than just you. These are flowing resources, and we rely on people upstream, just as people downstream are reliant on us."

For more information or to join a future watershed meeting or event, reach out to Maria Russo at mrusso@wvrivers.org.