Water line under Kiski River near Apollo to be replaced

Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County board members on Wednesday approved a $1.76 million project to install a new water line under the Kiski River.

Officials said about 1.5 miles of pipe will be installed, including an 800-foot section of 20-inch fused PVC material, that will run below the bed of waterway to service customers in Apollo and Kiski and North Apollo townships.

“We are replacing infrastructure. This is the only feed into the northern part of the system,” said authority business manager Brian Hohman. “This is a critical transmission line and we want to replace it before it gives us problems.”

The project will replace water lines that were first installed in the early 1900s, he said.

Construction is expected to begin before the end of the year and take about three months to complete.

Hohman said water customers along that section of water system will see some minimal service interruptions during the course of the construction project.

On Wednesday, the authority awarded a $886,000 contract to Kukrin Contracting of Export to install the new water line. The company submitted the lowest among 10 bids for the job, Hohman said.

Officials said the authority will pay about $223,000 to rent equipment to drill under the river for the pipe installation. Purchase of the pipe, valves and other hardware required for the project will account for the remaining expenses, he said.