The Lycoming County Water and Sewer Authority initiative to meet state and federal pollution standards related to the Chesapeake Bay cleanup and meet demands for local development is moving forward.
On Wednesday, authority members got a glimpse of the nearly completed design of its proposed new administration building and maintenance-garage facility.
That work, which will be done in conjunction with a $9 million upgrade of its treatment facilities, is expected to cost about $4 million.
The project should be put out to bid in early August, with contracts expected to be awarded the first week of September, said Eric Moore, authority engineering services manager.
According to Moore, the administration building, which will be located on a parcel of land adjacent to the current facility, should be completed in time for the authority's June meeting.
The authority's facilities expansion is necessary because new pollution standards related to the cleanup of the Chesapeake Bay requires lower levels of nitrogen and phosphorus be discharged into the West Branch of the Susquehanna River, authority Executive Director Christine Weigle said.
Commercial and industrial development in the eastern portion of the county, particularly in the area around the Lycoming Mall and the Muncy Industrial Park, also has put a strain on authority staff and facilities, she said.
The current facilities house administrative offices and some of the equipment used in the treatment process.
Once the new administration building is up and running, current administration space will be transitioned into treatment facilities.
That includes expanding a water and sewage testing laboratory by combining it with an adjacent room currently used for meetings, records storage and other purposes.
Weigle said the available lab space is "the size of a postage stamp."
Harrison F. Bink, of Basco Associates of York, presented design drawings and artist renderings of the proposed administration building to the authority.
Bink said the new facility will be energy efficient, use natural lighting and include a board room-training room that will accommodate almost 50 people.
Bink said the current board room, which barely has room for a dozen people, is a good example of why the new facility needs to be built.
The structure will be fire resistant so no fire suppression system will be needed, he said.
Contractor Glenn O. Hawbaker Inc. recently was awarded a bid to do the site preparation work for the facility, Weigle said.
The company bid $1.1 million to do the work.
Bink said the number of contractors bidding for the site work were fewer than expected.
He said he suspects that was due to the number of contractors working with the natural gas industry.
However, Bink said he expects a more robust response to the actual construction of the new facility.
The expanded facilities should meet water and sewer needs in the region for several decades, Bink said.
According to Weigle, the expansion is crucial for the authority to support the economic growth of the area. "This project is critical to the strategic plan of the authority," Weigle said. "It will allow (the authority) the opportunity to grow its customer base, to respond to municipal partner needs, to support economic growth and development in Lycoming County, and to gain economies of scale through a larger revenue base with diversity of services."
The authority is expected to vote on the final design of the facilities Wednesday during it regular monthly meeting.
