Delmont moves ahead with creation of stormwater authority

Delmont officials will move ahead with the creation of a stormwater authority board, which would be authorized to charge residents a fee based on the amount of stormwater runoff they contribute to the borough’s collection system.

Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to create the five-member authority, as borough officials work their way through two state consent agreements and several million dollars worth of recent and upcoming sewer and stormwater projects.

Stormwater runoff is rain that is not absorbed by the natural features of land but rather “runs off” and enters a public collection system. Impervious surfaces such as driveways can produce runoff.

Monroeville in recent years has enacted stormwater fees, and nearby North Huntingdon is in the process of creating its own.

After filing with the Pennsylvania Department of State to create the authority, borough officials must find board members as well as an engineer to undertake a study that will set up how and when billing takes place.

“I think it’s important to get this up and running, because we do have some investment we need to do in our sewage system,” Councilman Stan Cheyne said.

Fees would be calculated based on the size of a property and the features it contains that create stormwater runoff.

As part of Delmont’s consent order with the state, public works head Bill Heaps has been conducting testing to locate illegal connections, like a stormwater down-spout running into a sewage system, or instances where stormwater is able to enter the sewage collection system.

“We have about 80 properties that need to make repairs,” Cheyne said.

Heaps said one of the most common has been a broken sewer vent cap.

“Everyone gets it,” he said. “Everyone is being nice about it. I can supply them with a list of names for people who can do the repair work, then I’ll come back out and inspect it once it’s finished.”