Work continues on our new wastewater treatment plant at the main facility in Fairfield township, Lycoming County. A  mild Winter has allowed construction crews to work at full speed through the recent months.  This project will process wastewater to help meet regulatory mandates and improve the sludge dewatering system. The project is expected to be completed near the end of 2012.

January 2012 work continues on schedule

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Wastewater Treatment Phase I Upgrade Project

The Montoursville Regional Sanitary Sewer Wastewater Treatment Plant (MRSS WWTP) requires improvements to meet the nutrient removal requirements of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s Chesapeake Bay Tributary Strategy, to provide adequate sludge treatment capacity, address existing maintenance and equipment needs, and enhance operations and treatment efficiencies.

The WWTP Project will include the construction of site improvements, a new 350,000 gallon aerated sludge holding tank, digester improvements, sequencing batch reactor improvements, a new Solids Handling Building, sludge thickener, belt filter press, chemical treatment system, and ancillary equipment and controls.  The WWTP Project is anticipated to cost approximately $9.5M with a borrowing of $10M.  Construction will commence in August 2011 and completed in 2011 and 2012.

This project will be funded through the revenue of the MRSS sewer customer base.

Overall Project Goals

• Meet Federal and State Compliance Mandates

Ability to Provide:

• Biological Nutrient Reduction (BNR)
• Sludge Digester Capacity
• Sludge Dewatering Improvements
• Automation (SCADA) of Entire Facility
• Maintenance Improvements and Repairs

Reasons for the Project

• PA DEP Chesapeake Bay Tributary Strategy (BNR)
• Non Compliance with current and future PA laws and regulations (digester capacity)
• Existing plate and frame press operational issues (improve sludge dewatering system)
• Damaged or not-workable components
• Miscellaneous operation and maintenance issues at the WWTP

RESPONSE TO NEEDS

• Upgrade WWTP to comply with current and future laws and regulations
• Design a BNR system without incurring the substantial expense of building new treatment tanks
• Add a plant-wide Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system to facilitate the plant operation and compliance
• Fix or replace existing failing components and improve facility operation and maintenance

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Provision of the new Admin/Facilities Project will enable the LCWSA to address its space needs while also improving site security, expanding and improving public access to the staff, and providing an appropriate environment for the Authority’s public meetings and address the expansion of the existing laboratory facilities at the wastewater treatment plant.  The garage portion of the Admin/Facilities project will provide for storage and maintenance of vehicles and equipment, increased safety and efficiency for sewage pump cleaning and maintenance and storage for critical-inventory parts and materials.

The Admin/Facilities Project is expected to cost $4,000,000 and construction will commence in August 2011 and will be completed in late 2012 or early 2013.

This project will be funded through the revenue of the entire customer base of LCWSA as appropriately allocated with the monies secured through the recent bond financing.

This project is critical to the strategic plan of the Authority.  It will allow LCWSA the opportunity to grow its customer base, to respond to municipal partner needs, to support economic growth and development in Lycoming County, and to gain economies of scale through a larger revenue base with diversity of services.

Reasons for the Admin/Facility Project

Chesapeake Bay Tributaries Strategy:

• Wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) modifications will require the existing WWTP space to be dedicated to WWTP functions.

Laboratory:

• Increased testing required due to CBTS, Non-Domestic Waste permitting program (monitoring industrial/commercial discharges), support lab services as an partner service, and potentially allow for the inclusion of water system testing (water testing is currently outsourced).

Maintenance:

• Adequate space is needed to perform equipment maintenance in a safe, efficient manner.

Equipment:

• Critical spare parts, inventory management and control, appropriate space for equipment, and vehicles to be stored out of the weather to protect the investment in these high-cost items.

Site Access and Safety:

• Regulators, vendors, suppliers, and the public access the site regularly. The existing access drive does not meet standards for delivery trucks and would require significant repair/restoration and storm water related work if it were to be improved to standards. Access is problematic at times during the winter due to the slope.

Office Space:

• Workspaces are needed for existing staff; lack of workspace creates inefficiencies. “Field” personnel have desk-duties (data entry/management, forms, records, correspondence, planning, coordination, etc.)

Recordkeeping:

• The existing file system is spread out throughout the plant site due to lack of central space for files (inefficient). Timely access to critical information is a concern. Management of development requires a centralized, efficient system that can be utilized easily by multiple staff members.  Compliance with records retention.

Water System Expansion:

• Increases demand for space; for files, people, parts, and equipment.

Additional Services:

• Support the growth of additional services to serve municipal partner needs.

Strategic Plan:

• Meets goals and objectives set forth.

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Over the past several years, Lycoming County Water and Sewer Authority (LCWSA) has been actively expanding the public water infrastructure in the corridor between Montoursville and Muncy Boroughs generally south of Interstate I-180.   The next phase is referred to as the Grey Fox Plaza Service Area and incorporates improvements to the Village Water Company service territory.  This phase of construction is located in the core area of Lycoming Mall Drive in Fairfield Township.

Grey Fox

LCWSA and its engineer, HRG, have finalized the design of the necessary water facilities, and have presented the plans to the Fairfield Township Supervisors and the Fairfield Township Planning Commission for approval.

In general, the scope of the project involves the construction of a 200,000 gallon elevated water storage tank and the installation of redundant water transmission mains to support the Village Water Company customers and allow for further expansion of the public water infrastructure.

The 200,000 gallon elevated storage tank will be located in the Grey Fox Plaza Area Subdivision north of Lycoming Mall Drive in Fairfield Township.  The elevated storage tank will serve to provide domestic and fire flow to the existing and future service area along Lycoming Mall Drive.  The proposed water transmission mains will connect the proposed storage tank to the Village Water Company water system, provide redundant looping within the Grey Fox Plaza water system, and provide an interconnection to LCWSA’s recently completed Phase I Water System to achieve regional redundancy in water supply.

The project is in “the bid phase” with construction anticipated to begin this summer.  The storage tank is expected to be completed in the summer of 2012 due to the long lead time of delivery.  An overview drawing is attached.

LCWSA, the Fairfield Township Supervisors, and the Lycoming County Commissioners have been working together for several years to develop the necessary water system to assure fire protection needs are met in our community, to meet the growing needs for residential water supply demands, and to sustain development south of Interstate I-180.  The various partnerships and regionalization efforts, including the acquisition of the Village Water Company – through a donation – are effectively allowing the improvements to occur without a rate increase.

LCWSA is funding the construction of this project through Build America Bonds in partnership with the Lycoming County Commissioners.  LCWSA offers its thanks for the cooperation of all partners involved in the project and is certain that the continued teamwork will assure the success of this project.

Grey Fox Plaza Area Water System Project

The regular monthly meetings for 2012 of the Lycoming County Water and Sewer Authority are the first Wednesday of every month, with the exception of July, at 7:00 PM on the following dates:

All of the above meetings will be held in the conference room of the administrative offices at the Montoursville Regional Sewer System Wastewater Treatment Plant located at 216 Old Cement Road, Montoursville, PA 17754.  The facility is handicapped accessible.  Impaired persons with special needs should submit their request in writing and reasonable accommodations will be made.

Christine Weigle

Executive Director