PIKETON, Ohio — A new water treatment plant meant to replace a 73-year-old facility serving this southern Ohio village ran months past its completion deadline after the primary contractor went into a financial tailspin, leaving residents relying on aging infrastructure that state regulators cited for violations three times in the final months of 2025.
The village secured approximately $8.5 million in funding, including federal loan forgiveness through the U.S. Department of Agriculture, to build the new facility. Court records confirm WAI Construction Group was awarded the primary contract. The project was bonded at $8,520,000 and scheduled for completion by July 31, 2025.
In a Dec. 6, 2025, Facebook post, Piketon Mayor Billy Spencer told residents the contractor had gone bankrupt, pushing the completion date to approximately April 30, 2026. Spencer said electrical equipment for the project had been held in a warehouse and would not be released amid a dispute with the bonding company, which was reportedly resolved.
WAI Construction Group is owned by Steven Moore of Scioto County. Moore’s application to the Ohio Nuclear Development Authority, obtained through a public records request, identifies him as Chief Executive Officer of Veolia Nuclear Solutions Federal Services, a company that performs environmental work for the U.S. Department of Energy at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant site in Piketon. Court records confirm WAI Construction Group held multiple construction contracts with Fluor-BWXT Portsmouth, the former contractor managing decommissioning at the former atomic plant. Moore holds a seat on the Ohio Nuclear Development Authority as an industry representative, appointed Aug. 2, 2024.
The Violations
As the new plant’s completion date slipped, Piketon continued operating its aging backup facility.
The Ohio EPA issued its first notice of violation to the village water system in October 2025 following sampling that showed elevated manganese levels.
On Dec. 10, state inspectors conducted a follow-up site visit and found the village’s iron and manganese filter was not operating as designed. The air scour system used during filter backwashing was inoperable. The agency determined the media was inadequately removing iron and manganese from the water supply.
The Ohio EPA issued a second notice of violation on Dec. 16, citing a significant deficiency, and ordered the village to submit a corrective plan within 30 days. The agency warned that failure to comply would constitute a treatment technique violation requiring public notification to water customers.
A third violation followed on Dec. 31 after the November sampling continued to show elevated iron and manganese. The agency stated to the Guardian that the water met state and federal safety standards.
Residents told local media and state regulators they could not drink, cook with, or wash clothes in the water, regardless of its regulatory status. Photographs of brown and yellow water circulated on social media throughout December. Many residents reported driving to neighboring communities to obtain clean water.
Mayor Spencer told residents on Facebook: “If you guys don’t want to drink it, don’t. It can’t be helped.”
The Federal Lawsuit
On Nov. 7, 2024, Fidelity and Deposit Company of Maryland, the project’s bonding company, filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio against WAI Construction Group and Moore personally, among others, case 2:24-cv-04139.
The complaint identifies the Piketon Water Treatment Plant and the Piketon Wastewater Treatment Plant, bonded at $13,739,723, among the projects affected. It alleges subcontractors on the water treatment plant filed claims of $861,072.27 in unpaid obligations, and subcontractors on the wastewater plant filed claims of $611,737.43.
Moore and his companies deny the allegations in the complaint.
In their answer filed Jan. 14, 2025, WAI Construction Group admitted it “failed to pay certain subcontractors on certain ‘Bonded Contracts’.” The bond schedule confirmed in that filing includes both Piketon water projects.
The case is in active mediation. A session was scheduled for April 17, 2026. No findings of liability have been made by the court.
The original complaint can be viewed below –