Carmichaels authority receives loan
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The Carmichaels Municipal Authority received a $610,000 low-interest state loan to make improvements to its water treatment system that will help prevent the formation of the chlorination byproduct, trihalomethane, in its treated water.
The loan from the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority will be used to install aerators at two of the authority’s water storage tanks and replace filter backwash controls at its water treatment plant.
The work was recommended by a study completed by authority engineer, KLH Engineers, as a means to prevent the formation of THM, prolonged exposure to which has been linked to cancer and other health problems.
The authority had problems in late 2010 and early 2011 when it failed to meet safe drinking water standards for THM.
Since that time, THM levels remained well below the maximum contamination level of 0.08 milligrams per liter, authority manager Lloyd Richard said. The highest level the authority recorded last year was 0.0628 mg/L in August, he said.
THM forms when chlorine, used by the authority as a disinfectant, combines with the organic matter and bromides in raw river water. It is more likely to form when water temperatures rise in late summer and when the chlorine remains in contact with the organic matter or bromides in the treated water for long periods of time.
The authority already received permits from the state Department of Environmental Protection for the aerators and expects to authorize the engineer to solicit bids for the work at a meeting today, which is a continuation of last week’s regular meeting, Richard said.
The loan is expected to cover the full costs of the improvements. In anticipation of having to fund the project, the authority increased rates in September. It was the first time the authority adjusted rates in about 19 years. The last adjustment included a decrease in rates.
Work on the project could begin early this spring and be completed in December. With the Pennvest loan, the authority will pay 1.72 percent interest for the first five years and 2.17 percent for the remainder of the 20-year loan.
“The improved system will be a big relief, and the financing will help ease the impact on customers,” said state Sen. Tim Solobay, D-Canonsburg, who announced the loan in a joint release issued by him and state Rep. Pam Snyder, D-Jefferson.
“Both our staffs huddled with Pennvest officials about the project, and the cooperation at all levels got this important part of it done,” Solobay said.
The authority serves about 1,900 customers in Cumberland Township and Carmichaels Borough.
“The projects will result in safer water supplies and improved public health,” Snyder said.