Sewer rates rise in Oakmont
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Effective this billing cycle, Oakmont Borough is raising sewage rates for all Oakmont Water Authority customers from $7.29 per 1,000 gallons to $9.50. The minimum charge for 6,000 gallons will rise from $43.74 to $57.
The increase comes directly from the borough and not from the water authority.
This marks the first rate increase since 2011, and it comes on the heels of the announcement of several major improvements to the local sewer system and the wastewater treatment plant on Anne Street, totaling approximately $16 million. While several small projects have been completed in past years , most recently in 2019, the new project the first major set of upgrades since the 1980s.
Oakmont Borough Council has approved a comprehensive list of upgrades and repairs, including the relining and replacement of the Plum Creek interceptor line, a 1.45-mile-long, 36-inch-wide sanitary line that handles two-thirds of the sewage from Oakmont and moves it to the wastewater treatment plant. This line begins at Penn Hills Park on the Oakmont side of Plum Creek.
The Plum Creek pump station also will be rehabilitated for the first time since the 1980s. The combined wet well/dry well was built in 1962 and collects and forwards most of Oakmont’s untreated flow to the treatment plant. The essential working components are 40 feet below grade, and the dry-well portion is deteriorating and will eventually collapse if it is not repaired.
The treatment plant, itself, is slated to be modernized. The improvements will increase the plant’s capacity, reduce illicit groundwater infiltration, improve the liquid waste prior to discharge into the water, and add several technological upgrades to the system.
A new ultraviolet disinfection system will be installed, requiring eliminating the current chlorine disinfection system. A UV system requires less treatment time within the system, which means it will be able to process more sewage than the existing system. In turn, that will reduce operating costs in the long run and eliminate disinfect byproduct, and will not need dechlorination before eventual elimination into the river. As a result, it will improve public safety.
Another upgrade is the installation of a new clarifier with a deeper and larger diameter that will replace the two smaller and older clarifiers currently in use, which are the original ones built with the treatment plant. The upgrade will increase the system capacity by 85 percent.
The project also includes the construction of a new blower building, which provides aeration to waste being treated, to help keep Oakmont compliant with new state Department of Environmental Protection regulations on the permitted amounts of ammonia to be discharged from the plant. The old blowers were installed in 1989 and are now considered obsolete. The new system will allow the borough to meet its ammonia limits and also reduce energy costs at the treatment plant.
A futher improvement is the installation of a new plant centrifuge component, which helps move sewage through the treatment plant. The existing component was also installed in 1989 and is already past its life expectancy. A new centrifuge can move more material and move it faster to dewatering process, while also reducing the chances of odor emanating from the plant.
Finally, a second equalization tank to gather overloads from heavy rain will be put into place. The original tank was installed in 2008, with a capacity of 272,000 gallons, later raised to 412,000 gallons in 2020. A new tank would increase capacity to 824,000 gallons.
“These improvements will provide decades of uninterrupted service to residents and businesses in Oakmont,” a borough press release states. “But more importantly, these improvements allow the borough to operate an independent sewer collection and treatment system and not become a member of Alcosan, our only other option in this region of Allegheny County.”
A primary reason for the borough not to align itself with the county sanitary authority is the cost. Oakmont’s increased customer base following the construction of the Edgewater at Oakmont residential development has kept local rates stable for more than 10 years, while Alcosan customers have seen an increase in each of the last five years.
The average Alcosan customer pays $128 per quarter for 12,000 gallons, plus other fees. Oakmont’s quarterly rate currently stands at $87 and carries no Alcosan fee.
And while the borough expects the rates to rise by approximately 30% in the form of four or five increases over the next 15 years, this amount still would be less than even the lower end of Alcosan customers.
Upgrades in Oakmont also will keep the borough current with DEP regulations, avoiding some of the upgrades other municipalities have endured that have exceeded Oakmont’s $16 million plan by 400 to 500%.
“The history of our independent system and the historical proactive approach to our treatment plant and sewage infrastructure is an important tale to share with the community,” borough manager Scot Fodi said,