Westmoreland Municipal Authority to upgrade McKeesport water intake

The Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County will dam off a section of the Youghiogheny River next year and dig below the riverbed to install new pipes needed as part of a $7.8 million project to build an upgraded intake system in McKeesport.

Authority board members this week approved the project, which officials said will simplify maintenance and repairs needed at the small and cramped round brick structure where raw river water is pumped to an adjoining treatment plant.

Officials said the project will improve the agency’s ability to push up to 10 million gallons of water a day into the treatment plant that services a customers in McKeesport, Port Vue, Versailles and White Oak. The authority also operates two larger treatment plants, one on the Youghiogheny River in Connellsville and another at the Beaver Run Reservoir in Bell to service its 121,000 water customers who account for more than 400,000 residents in Westmoreland, Allegheny, Fayette, Armstrong and Indiana counties.

For the McKeesport project, five new pumps, replacing three older models, will be installed and the authority will dig about 30 feet below ground and under the river to install intake pipes. Work is expected to start early next year and be completed near the end of 2021.

The upgrades to the 70-year-old intake system are necessary to ensure water continues to flow to customers, officials said.

“If you can’t get water out of the river, you can’t put it into the system,” said authority Manager Michael Kukura.

Customers will see no interruptions during the construction. Kukura said the existing intake system will remain intact while the new equipment is installed.

The project will be paid for from money the authority borrowed in 2016.