With a major construction project to start soon in East Conemaugh Borough, Councilman Steve Coy has a blunt warning for residents.
“It’s really going to be a mess,” he said.
But it is a necessary mess, as East Conemaugh complies with a state order and builds a new sewer system to serve a borough of more than 1,100 residents.
All municipalities in the Johnstown Regional Sewage system have been ordered by the state Department of Environmental Protection to eliminate “inflow and infiltration,” or surface water that is overloading the area’s sewer lines.
But the job is especially costly and difficult in three municipalities: Dale, East Conemaugh and Ferndale.
All three have “combined” systems, meaning one set of pipes carries both surface runoff and sewage. And all three must construct an entirely new sewer system, leaving the old pipes in the ground to handle surface water.
East Conemaugh Borough Council last week awarded construction contracts totaling about $4.5 million for its project.
The primary contractor, Alex E. Paris Contracting Co. Inc. of Washington County, submitted a successful $4.38 million bid.
Work is expected to begin next month.
The contractor “knows that we are ready to go,” Coy said.
“The sooner the better, because you never know what you’re going to find underground.”
The borough got a big break in July when state officials announced a $5.4 million grant and a $1 million loan for the project. That will allow sewage-rate increases for borough residents to be minimal.
“It was a godsend,” Coy said of the grant.
Officials have attempted to further alleviate the financial burden on residents. While every property owner will be required to tap into the new sewage system, there will be no tap-in fee, Coy said.
And, rather than simply stopping the new sewage pipes at an individual’s property line, crews will take those lines to within
2 feet of a home’s foundation – at the borough’s cost.
“That’s a big bonus for the residents,” Coy said.
Borough leaders have put in a lot of time laying groundwork for the project, including going door-to-door in some cases to obtain easements for construction crews.
Still, there is no denying that tearing up the entire borough will cause disruptions.
“We’re going to do the best we can to let people know ahead of time what’s going on,” Coy said.
Meanwhile, a similar project in Dale Borough is under way.
Construction costs are estimated at $4.5 million, though Dale also received help from the state in the form of a $5.3 million grant and a $660,000 loan.
“We’ll have some things to do after (construction) is done,” said Steve Sewalk of The EADS Group, the borough’s engineering firm. “We have some contingency money.”
A portion of Bedford Street is closed due to sewer construction and will remain shut for another three to four weeks, Sewalk said.
“Things so far are going according to plan,” he said.
In Ferndale, officials still are planning for the construction of a new sewer system. Work is expected to begin in June, said Dave Duray of CJL Engineering.
Ferndale’s cost could reach $6 million, Duray said. The borough has received a $3.73 million grant through the state.
Borough officials said residents’ sewage bills will be rising.
But Duray said not many easements will be needed for access to private property.
“The project is mostly in the public right of way,” he said.
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