Sewage project will likely increase bills
Fallowfield Township Supervisor Wilbur Caldwell, center, expresses his concerns about the sewerage bill increases.
Shawn Rosensteel, left, senior project manager for KLH, and Sam Gibson, KLH project engineer, present project plans to residents.
Charleroi Sewage Authority held a town meeting Wednesday at Charleroi High School to outline the planned sewer project that will be used to solve a stormwater overflow issue at the Maple Creek Facility. This project is likely to cause monthly bills to increase by $38 in early 2017 for customers in Fallowfield Township, and the boroughs of Charleroi, Dunlevy, Speers and Twilight.
This project is part of the Act 537 Sewage Facilities Plan each municipality is required to have based on the guidelines set forth by Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. This plan is available for public review until Sept. 16 at the authority office.
Shawn Rosensteel, senior project manager for KLH Engineers Inc., said they came up with three alternatives.
Rosensteel said they chose Option 1, which will involve end-of-pipe treatment at the combine sewer overflows. He said this plan could cost as much as $32.5 million. Rosensteel said they chose this plan because it had the lowest cost, a relatively easy permitting process and also allows reuse of existing structures and property.
Rosensteel said the first phase of construction is expected to begin in September 2017 in Dunlevy, where the company will install a new pump station with submersible pumps. The goal of this phase will be to eliminate overflows in Dunlevy and Speers.
The first phase also will include screening and ultraviolet disinfection at the new pump station, converting the existing Speers pump station wet well into a submersible pump station and a new force main at the Dunlevy site.
Rosensteel said the second phase of the project, tentatively scheduled to begin in May 2019, will involve efforts to eliminate the Maple Creek pump station overflows. He said they hope to achieve capture for treatment of 85 percent of combined sewage.
The presentation indicated residents in service areas can expect to see their monthly bills increase by as much as $38. After the first six years and for the remainder of the 30-year financing term, residents will see their monthly bills increase by as much as $45. Fallowfield customers will pay an additional $8 a month in order to pay off the costs for the construction of the Fallowfield sewer system.
Rosensteel said the $38 increase would be the “worst case scenario” cost, but they will attempt to reduce the figure. Rosensteel said they also hope to use the existing LSA grant, worth $500,000, that was given to the authority. He said taking advantage of the lower interest rates in the current market could lower costs.
Fallowfield Township Supervisor Wilbur Caldwell said this plan makes it look as if Fallowfield didn’t put in a sufficient system.
Sam Gibson, a project engineer for KLH, said the system put in by Fallowfield is not substandard. He said the issues they are having are caused by private laterals, like downspouts, which also will be looked into and planned for in the maintenance and operation budget.
Caldwell also expressed his concern with the lack of representation for Fallowfield on the board for this project. Caldwell said he tried for three years to get someone from the township on the board. He said without representation, they felt as if they had no say in what was going on. “With the size of this project, there should be a rep from every municipality you serve,” Caldwell said.
Caldwell said supervisors will have a meeting at 6 p.m. Sept. 19 at Fallowfield Township Municipal Building to discuss this project and other matters.
Rayna Mendola of Fallowfield said she is concerned because her bill keeps increasing. She said even though the fee for the Fallowfield system will be lowered to $8 because of refinancing, she is still concerned with the cost and whether others are paying their fair share.
Keith Bassi, solicitor for the authority, said they took the additional costs for Fallowfield customers into consideration. “We are sensitive to that. That’s why we extended it for a longer period of time,” Bassi said. By spreading out the payments, the total monthly bill is lowered. Bassi said they reduced the pending project from a $66 million design to a $32.5 million design. “We are trying to drive this cost down,” Bassi said.
Jeff Nicholson of Fallowfield said he already pays roughly $54 a month. He asked if these numbers were estimates and whether there was additional funding available. Bassi said these numbers are estimates and they are hoping to achieve a low bid and low interest rates to keep costs down.
Gibson said another LSA grant would be the most likely source of additional funding. “The authority will pursue all other available funding,” he said.
Donna Bavuso of Fallowfield said she is concerned with the rising cost. “Fallowfield is taking a beating,” Bavuso said. Bavuso said she and her husband installed a septic system when they built their home and were then forced to tie into the sewer system. “Now we are going to be forced again to pay for something we didn’t want,” Bavuso said.
She said their water bill ranges from $82 to $96 a month. “We are on a fixed income,” Bavuso said. She said the increase makes it difficult for everyone in the area. “They wonder why people are leaving. This is why,” Bavuso said.
Bassi said the answer to this problem lies with the DEP and state legislators who tell the authority what to do. Bassi said they set regulations and rules that need to be followed by the authority. Bassi said if the DEP should fund changes if they want them made.
John C. Mowry, principal for KLH, said the DEP is forcing these changes. “It’s not just here, it’s happening everywhere,” Mowry said.
Jonathan Baker of Fallowfield also was concerned with the cost. Baker believes the authority should first find out who is tapped into the system and causing issues before they begin this project. Rosensteel said the DEP would not allow them time up front to complete the necessary inspections. Rosensteel said the DEP wants this change to be completed quickly.