Lower Burrell officials will soon begin a massive, long-discussed sewage project officials say will further address concerns outlined by an environmental protection consent decree from the state.
The city was awarded a $500,000 grant and a $15.8 million low-interest loan, both from the state, to be used toward aging sewage infrastructure.
“The main project has been in place for many years in Lower Burrell,” said Greg Primm, city manager. “It’s just never come to fruition.”
Funding will upgrade the Chartiers pump station and Big Braeburn force main, located at the bottom of Edgecliff Road, as part of its implementation of a long-term control plan to reduce combined sewer overflows and eliminate separate sewer overflows.
Officials say the project includes replacing existing pumps, installing a backup generator, adding a one-million-gallon, above-ground equalization tank with blowers and fully replacing the existing force main line with 4,400 feet of new 10-inch force main.
The tank will be located at the pump station to serve as a buffer for storms.
The Chartiers pump station is about 30 years old and has outdated equipment, officials have said.
It serves 4,450 residential customers.
Primm said the municipal authority plans to award a construction bid for the project in early spring. He hopes work will start this summer and be complete by next summer.
Mayor Chris Fabry said grant awards are vital to the city.
“They allow us to address urgent needs without placing the full burden on local taxpayers and help our city tackle necessary infrastructure projects that directly benefit residents,” Fabry said. “We are grateful to Sen. Joe Pittman and state Reps. Abby Major, Jill Cooper and Leslie Rossi for championing these awards and recognizing the importance of our project. I’m also deeply proud of our internal team for their hard work and advocacy in securing these funds.”
Primm said the city was awarded a $9.55 million low-interest loan for the project last year, but officials rejected bids because they were too high.
“The interest rate on this PennVEST loan is cheaper than last year,” Primm said.
The loan is for 20 years and is 1% the first five years, and 1.7% the remaining years.
Like other communities in the region, Lower Burrell is under a consent decree from state and federal environmental protection agencies to eliminate or decrease combined sewage overflows into public waterways.
Primm noted the city has been taking steps to comply with the consent decree, noting a 2024 project in the Kinloch section of the city that called for new sanitary sewer liners. The project there aimed to reduce sanitary backups and overflows.
“The project, itself, should further address the concerns in the consent decree,” Primm said of the Chartiers pump station project. “All of the sewage work we’ve done is to comply with the pollution reduction plan.”
