Jan 18, 2013 2 min read

It’s been 20 years since a study was first begun on providing public sewers in Lawrence.

The 1992 study was shelved, looked at again in 2005 and then set aside once more. Now, supervisors in Cecil Township want to move the project forward.

At a meeting Wednesday at Hills-Henderson Elementary School, three separate plans were presented to sewer Lawrence.

The presentation went well, said Dennis Bell, administrator of the Cecil Township Municipal Authority, who said he heard no negative comments about the possible project and its estimated cost of between $6 million and $7 million.

Although the average cost to tap-in to a new system could run $3,500 per household, residents are aware of the need to replace malfunctioning systems in the area, Bell said.

Approximately 100 people attended the meeting to hear Mike Malak, with Senate Engineering, present three sewer system options. Approximately 350 households are in Lawrence.

Bell also is encouraged by area representatives who attended and said there will be infrastructure grants available to help with construction costs. Representatives from the offices of state Sen. Tim Solobay, Rep. Jesse White and U.S. Congressman Tim Murphy attended. There are federal dollars available for infrastructure as well as Local Share Account money.

The matter will now go before the township municipal authority, which will determine which option to pursue and get an Act 537 study completed.

Bell said the Act 537 study will likely take between 9 and 12 months to complete and present to the board of supervisors. From there, he estimates about a four-year window to get the project, which will be done in phases, under way.

Fortunately, the township has no mandate from the state Department of Environmental Protection to get a project started although malfunctioning septic systems in the area have been documented.

Malak showed slides of eight areas where wildcat sewers are discharging into a creek.

“Some people said they were waiting a long time for this and did I really think it would happen,” Bell said.

He believes the authority’s board of directors and township supervisors are interested in working cooperatively to get the project off the ground.

There are other areas in the township, such as Hendersonville and Southview, where public sewers are needed but Bell said Lawrence is by far the most crucial.