Morrisey Tours Southern West Virginia on Water Infrastructure, Announces Funding Rounds

In early August 2026, West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey conducted a two-day "Beautiful Clean Water" listening tour across southern West Virginia, beginning in Huntington and continuing through multiple counties in the coalfields region. The tour, held August 4-5, involved meetings with residents, mayors, local officials, public service districts, and water system operators to discuss aging water infrastructure and access problems. Morrisey stated that information gathered during the tour would help shape proposed water legislation for the next regular legislative session. During the tour, Morrisey announced a $1.4 million award for water infrastructure improvements in the Town of Gary. State officials reported that West Virginia had invested more than $550 million in water and wastewater projects statewide, including over $174 million in state grants and loans, as of early August. On August 18, Morrisey announced an additional $145 million in state funding for water and wastewater infrastructure projects, to be distributed over the following year, which officials said would put the state on track to surpass $1 billion in total water infrastructure investment. Separately, on August 25, the governor announced a funding opportunity of up to $2 million to expand home dialysis access statewide. At least one stop during the tour, in Mingo County, drew dissatisfied residents, including one who described a prolonged ambulance wait during a medical emergency, though this account was reported by a single outlet and not corroborated elsewhere. As of the latest reporting, Morrisey had indicated plans to roll out further water-related proposals and legislation in the weeks following the tour's conclusion. The precise contents of forthcoming legislation, the criteria for the $145 million and $2 million funding allocations, and the full scope of complaints raised by residents during the tour remain unspecified or unconfirmed across sources. Separately, the governor's office reported continued state and local recovery efforts following flooding and severe storms in the state around July 2026, with additional rain forecast at that time; the relationship, if any, between flood recovery efforts and the water infrastructure initiative was not detailed in available reporting.