submitted by DAVE STACK
After years of planning, Bath Borough Authority is set to begin construction of a new sewer plant. This is the largest capital project the Authority has undertaken since it first constructed the current sewer plant in 1965. This new sewer plant will be more efficient, better serve the customers of the Authority, and enable the Authority to comply with applicable rules and regulations.
Members of the Authority thoroughly investigated alternatives for the new sewer plant. After visiting four different sewer plants in Pennsylvania, evaluating other alternative plans, and extensive guidance from the Authority’s engineers, the Authority settled on a plant design utilizing the Sequential Batch Reactor Process. This type of sewer plant provides operating efficiencies and effluent control which best suit the Authority’s needs.
The new plant will have a capacity of 510,000 gallons per day. During the construction of the new plant, the existing structures will be demolished. In their place, the Authority will construct two Sequential Batch Reactor (SBR) tanks, two aerobic digester tanks, a headworks building, and a new office/control building. The Authority will also upgrade and replace piping associated with the facility and provide for a new UV disinfection system with a Rotary Press for sludge drying.
Prior to construction, the Authority obtained approval for the project from Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection, USDA, the Delaware River Basin Commission, and Northampton County Conservation District. In 2013, the Authority obtained a low-interest loan from the USDA’s Rural Utilities Service in the amount of $6,095,000. Supplemental funding from the USDA was obtained in 2019 in the form of a $7,263,000 low-interest loan.
Alfred Benesch & Company, the Authority’s engineer, became involved in this project in August 2016, and has performed extensive work on designing the plant and bringing the project to reality. After receiving approval from the USDA, the Authority advertised for bids on the project which were opened on Sept. 6, 2019. Notices of Intent to Award contracts were issued to Pact II for the construction of the plant and to BSI for electrical and HVAC work on the plant on Oct. 1, 2019. After another review by USDA, the Authority’s engineer reported that Notices to Proceed were issued to Pact II and BSI effective Feb. 24, 2020, permitting construction to begin.
It is expected that the sewer plant will be completed sometime in October 2021. The Bath Borough Authority wants to thank the USDA Rural Utilities Service, specifically Judith Tutino, P.E. and Sean McElroy, for their assistance in helping the Authority secure the $13,358,000 in funding necessary to bring this sewer plant into existence.
