Statement from Mercersburg Water Authority

February 4, 2026

The Mercersburg Water Authority is committed to providing water for both household use and fire protection within the Mercersburg community.

The MMP&W Volunteer Fire Company has a mission of protecting life and property from fire hazards. The Mercersburg Water Authority has a mission of providing an adequate supply of water for drinking and household use as well as fire protection. Both missions are essential for public health and safety. The volunteer members of both organizations care deeply about the community. The current water capacity challenges have made completing those overlapping missions more difficult. The Water Authority fully supports collaborative discussions between both organizations to better address operational challenges and mutual concerns.

The Mercersburg Water Authority learned of the MMP&W concerns via its February 3rd press release. The Authority desires to emphasize a number of items:

  1. Authority member Ed Twine does not speak for the whole of the Authority.
  2. Mr. Twine relayed that when he was asked by the Fire Chief what the MMP&W should do if Mr. Twine’s house was on fire, Mr. Twine responded that the fire company should “let it burn” because he is concerned with providing drinking water to 1,000 customers in the Mercersburg community. While Mr. Twine may feel that is the appropriate action for his property, the Authority does not believe that a vast majority of the community shares those feelings.
  3. The Authority has faced significant challenges with water supply recently with a large leak diminishing storage levels and water supplies struggling to keep up with demand.
  4. When the new water source on Park Avenue, which is currently under construction, is operational, the Authority’s water supply will increase significantly. The Authority did inform the MMP&W well in advance that the new source construction project would require the removal of the Park Avenue hydrant.
  5. The Authority has requested the MMP&W to observe the same water conservation measures that the community was asked to implement.
  6. While the Authority questions some of the characterizations in the MMP&W release, it will address those directly with representatives of the MMP&W.

To be clear, the Mercersburg Water Authority unequivocally supports the use of hydrants to address danger to life or property. The Authority supports collaboration with the MMP&W on how to best accomplish the missions of both organizations that are essential for the community.

The Mercersburg Water Authority