Westmoreland municipal authority approves $31 million treatment plant expansion

The Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County will spend $31 million to expand and upgrade a water treatment plant near Connellsville — a 70% jump in the cost estimated when it was initially approved 27 months ago.

Originally expected to cost about $18 million, the project’s price jumped in the intervening three years because of inflation and a lack of contractors available to do the work, officials said.

Announced in 2020, the upgrades will increase the capacity of the Indian Creek Water Treatment Plant, which provides water to about half of the authority’s customers who live south of Route 30. The cost of the project has grown as officials worked to finalize the design and planning and obtain regulatory approval.

Indian Creek, which draws water from the Youghiogheny River, is one of three treatment plants in the authority’s system. The authority sells water to more than 122,000 customers in Westmoreland, Allegheny, Armstrong, Fayette and Indiana counties.

Authority board members this week unanimously approved a $28.3 million contract with Kukurin Contracting of Export to serve as the project’s general contractor. Another $3.4 million contract with Schultheis Electric of Latrobe was finalized to complete electrical work associated with expansion.

Officials said the upgrades, which include the addition of filters and clarifiers as well as installation of an ultraviolet light disinfection system to kill organisms without the use of chemicals, will allow the authority to increase capacity at the plant. When the upgrade is complete, the authority will be able to treat 50 million gallons of water a day, a boost of 10 million gallons.

The project was originally funded as part of a $130 million loan for capital improvements taken out in 2016. The inflated cost will be covered through the authority’s surplus of capital funds and reserves, according to business manager Brian Hohman.

“It’s through the roof, but we have to start it, and thank God we borrowed the money for it in 2016,” said authority manager Michael Kukura.

Hohman said in 2020 that the upgrade is “necessary to ensure future water availability for our residents and businesses and for future economic development opportunities.”

Authority board Chairman Randy Roadman said additional expense will be offset by cheaper interest rates secured when the authority borrowed the money in 2016.

“We would pay a lot more to borrow the money now. We made a wise decision several years ago,” Roadman said.

Construction is scheduled to begin this spring, and the plant’s expansion is expected to be completed in about two years.