Springdale water system renovation 80% complete, but discolored water will stay awhile

The Springdale water system renovation project is about 80% complete, borough officials say.

Kevin Szakelyhidi of Bankson Engineers, the project engineer, said Tuesday that is about where it now stands, based on the payouts to contractors working on the $7 million renovation.

He told borough council that two contracts with Kukurin Contracting, which installed the new waterlines, have yet to be closed out because of some change orders he still has to discuss with the company.

Four contractors are still working on the project, he said. The next phase of work to be done is demolition of the old filter room.

“The HVAC contractor is kind of stuck,” Szakelyhidi said. “He can’t do anything until the old filter room is demolished and the new walls put up.”

He said activation of the new water filters installed at the treatment plant took place Monday. That was after some onsite testing by the state Department of Environmental Protection on Aug. 2. The borough’s state water treatment permit was issued Aug. 7.

The filters went on line and “so far, the manganese level in the water is excellent,” Szakelyhidi told borough council.

Manganese has been the principal source of brown discoloration in tap water that has plagued residents for years, he said.

Regarding the water discoloration, Councilman David Spirk, water department chairman, said a recent headline on a Tribune-Review story about the new filters may have misled residents about it. He said the headline appeared to indicate that the discoloration would be gone by next week.

“That’s not gonna happen,” Spirk said. “The residents think it’s going to happen overnight, and it’s not.”

He said there is still sediment in the “nooks and crannies” of the old waterlines that are still part of the system and that can continue to cause discoloration.

“We still have a significant number of old pipes that need replacing, so it will take some time,” Spirk said.

Council approved payment of $210,000 to Hickes Associates Inc., the general contractor for the treatment plant, for recent work completed to date.

It approved payment of $5,490 to Bankson Engineers for its recent work on the project and also agreed to draw down $242,000 additional funds from its PennVEST loan for the project to pay contractors.