Dec 16, 2016 3 min read

WAYNESBURG – Waynesburg Borough Council should have a better idea come February about which of three options it should pursue to address sewage overflows at the borough’s sewage treatment plant.

Engineer Bob Dengler told council Monday that the Franklin Township Sewage Authority is now determining the “bulk rate” it would charge the borough to treat borough sewage should the borough decide to abandon its treatment plant and connect with the Franklin system.

Abandoning the plant and paying Franklin to treat borough sewage is one option the borough is considering to meet a requirement of the state Department of Environmental Protection to address sewage overflows at the aged treatment plant.

This plan would require the borough to pay the Franklin authority a bulk rate for treating sewage, as well as a charge to cover the costs for the authority to expand its plant to handle the additional sewage flow, Dengler said.

The other two options council has been considering involve rehabilitating the borough’s existing treatment plant and constructing a new plant using a different treatment technology.

Before making a decision on which option to pursue, Dengler said, council must have information from the Franklin authority. “You’ll want to know is that rate (from Franklin) going to be better than the rate you could charge by doing your own plant,” Dengler said.

The borough is required by DEP to develop a plan to reduce sewage overflows at its plant that occur during heavy rain and result partly from having a combined sanitary and stormwater collection system.

In addition to work at the treatment plant, the plan calls for separating sanitary sewers and storm sewers where feasible and reducing groundwater infiltration caused by faulty sewer lines.

Council gave Dengler the authority Monday to begin preparing an Act 537 sewage plan for DEP that would not be finalized until council decides on one of the options.

The plan is be submitted to DEP in March, at which time council also could begin investigating funding for the project from state and federal grant programs, Dengler said.

According to a tentative schedule, engineering design for the project will be completed in 2018, and any construction that would be needed would start in 2019, Dengler said.

Several council members asked whether the borough’s treatment plant will be able to function until 2019 without costing the borough a lot of money.

Dengler said the plant should be able to continue operating, provided regular maintenance is performed and some money is spent to cover needed repairs.

Borough manager Mike Simms reported he and borough employees already have conducted a review and prioritized work that must be done to keep the plant safe and operational.