Sewage treatment plant in Avonmore to get $3.3 million upgrade
The Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County board on Wednesday approved the financing for construction of an upgraded sewer plant in Avonmore.
The $3.3 million project will upgrade the 50-year-old plant that services more than 400 sewer customers in the borough.
The work will be paid for by a $1.85 million grant and a $1.3 million low interest loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The authority will chip in another $171,000.
“This is a win for us,” said authority board Chairman Randy Roadman.
Authority officials said the upgraded plant in Avonmore will increase the facility’s capacity, ensure reliability during heavy rains.
It will also modernize operations, including converting its disinfection process from chlorine to the use of ultraviolet light.
“We’re pleased we were able to attract this funding for our customers so that the needed upgrades can be accomplished with no change in rates,” said authority manager Michael Kukura.
The Avonmore system, purchased in 2001, was the county authority’s first foray into the sewage business. It has since purchased more than a half dozen sewer system in the region, including large scale operations in Hempfield and Jeannette.
The authority now has more than 26,000 sewage customers to go along with it’s 112,000 water customers in Westmoreland, Allegheny, Armstrong, Indiana and Fayette counties.
IUP to keep testing Beaver Run Reservoir
Authority board members on Wednesday also focused attention on its water business.
The authority renewed its contract with Indiana University of Pennsylvania to monitor water quality at Beaver Run Reservoir, which serves customers north of Route 30.
The authority will pay the school $91,000 to perform quarterly evaluations of the water at the reservoir, which is a $16,000 decrease from the previous year. Kukura said the reduction resulted from cuts in the previous year’s monitoring program necessitated by the coronavirus pandemic that prevented the school’s faculty and students from conducting the water quality tests this spring.
Water quality test results are available to the public on IUP’s website.
A separate contract with IUP to conduct air emission tests at the reservoir is expected to be approved this fall.
Rich Cholodofsky is a TribLive reporter covering Westmoreland County government, politics and courts. He can be reached at rcholodofsky@triblive.com.
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