Construction is expected to begin next week on a new $46.1 million sewage treatment plant near the Youghiogheny River in North Huntingdon, which will replace aging infrastructure that is close to 50 years old, an official said.
The project will increase the maximum daily capacity of the North Huntingdon Township Municipal Authority’s treatment plant from 10 million gallons per day to 16 million gallons, said Michael Branthoover, municipal authority executive director. The average daily treatment capacity remains at about 3.31 million gallons, he said.
The project is expected to be completed in February 2027. The new plant will be constructed in the same area as the existing plant along Turner Valley Road, Branthoover said. The authority has about 20 acres of property between Turner Valley Road and the Youghiogheny River.
There are no plans to raise sewage rates in order to pay for the project, Branthoover said, because the township authority recently paid off all of its financing.
Tom Hempel, a municipal authority member and a North Huntingdon commissioner, said that a modern sewage facility plant was needed to replace an aging one.
“We’ve got to be able to expand,” Hempel said.
Hempel noted that the municipal authority will have a new sewage plant without the need to increase the sewage rates.
Wayne Crouse Inc., a Pittsburgh-based construction firm, was awarded a $40.7 million general contact for the project, with A-1 Electric Inc. of Washington, Pa., awarded a $$5.39 million contract for electrical work.
The authority will pay for the project with a $25 million low-interest loan from the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority — PennVEST — and a low-interest bond, Branthoover said.
Some of the authority’s planned capital projects may be delayed so that the sewage authority would postpone using the PennVEST loan, which is to be repaid over 20 years, Branthoover said.
The municipal authority serves about 12,160 residential customers and 500 commercial customers in the township through about 230 miles of sewer lines. A little less than one-half of the sewage flows from the northern section of North Huntingdon is treated by the plant operated by the Western Westmoreland Municipal Authority along Route 993 along Brush Creek in the township.
