MAWC to update aging pressure flow controls

Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County board members last week approved a $9.6 million project to install new equipment to better control water pressure.

The project is part of upgrades that will enable staff to remotely adjust and monitor water flow, said MAWC manager Michael Kukura.

Officials said the new equipment replaces outdated, 40- to 50-year-old units placed in concrete vaults that housed valves to control the pressure as water flowed from higher to lower grades throughout the system. The new equipment will include valves, plumbing, electronics, battery backups and the ability to access solar power, officials said.

The authority serves more than 123,000 customers in Westmoreland, Allegheny, Armstrong, Fayette and Indiana counties.

Kukura said the pressure controls help prevent large-scale ruptures of water lines that can result from excessive flow as water travels from higher gradients.

The region’s hilly terrain requires active pressure controls throughout the system.

Power outages can disrupt the pressure units and, ultimately, water service, Kukura said. He pointed to a series of violent storms last April that required the authority to install small generators to ensure the system’s pressure valves continued to operate during ongoing regional power outages.

“This just keeps the water moving through the system,” Kukura said of the pressure control system.

The replacements are the fourth of six planned upgrades of the authority’s pressure control system. Half of the system’s 110 pressure control units have been replaced and future installations are expected over the next several years, officials said.

The project is part of the authority’s latest capital program funded through a $75 million bond issue finalized this year.