The Masontown Municipal Authority has been awarded more than $9.559 million in state grants and low-interest loans through the state PENNVEST Program for a major wastewater upgrade project that will protect local water supplies, according to Senator Pat Stefano (R-32).
Stefano said funding will be used to address infrastructure that is approximately 80 years old and at the end of its useful life. Clay pipe will be removed and replaced, and spot repairs of specific collection system piping will be conducted to separate combined laterals and repair existing piping. The pipe replacement/repair will encompass over 50,000 feet of piping. The storm sewer portion of the project will remove 1,400 feet of an existing pipe arch and restore the original channel to accommodate increased storm flows from the area. A new aluminum pipe arch will also be constructed at North Redwood Street.
The project is needed to address sanitary sewer overflows, due to high levels of infiltration and inflow, which contribute untreated sewage into the Youghiogheny River.
It will serve 422 residential customers and is expected to create 20 construction-related jobs.
“Sewage and water are extremely important to the health and economy of a community, but very expensive to maintain,” Stefano said. “This PENNVEST funding is crucial to bringing our sewage system into compliance and protecting water supplies for area residents. It will also ensure that user fees don’t increase dramatically to pay for these improvements, which are necessary to ensure the borough meets state requirements for health and safety.”
The authority also received a grant of $205,000 from the Commonwealth Financing Authority to correct a recurring flooding issue at the intersection of North Redwood Street and Commercial Avenue that then follows the storm sewer alignment down to Cottage Avenue. The main issue causing the flooding is pipe that was used to enclose the stream that runs through the borough but was not correctly sized. The borough intends to remove the existing elliptical pipe arch and restore the channel to its original alignment and cross section.
CONTACT: Mark Fetzko — mfetzko@pasen.gov