Williamsport Municipal Water Authority looks to sell excess supplies of potable water to industries
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In the Southwestern part of the nation extreme drought has led to areas rationing water but Williamsport and parts of Lycoming County are "water rich."
That's because the Williamsport Municipal Water and Sanitary Authority has excess water in its reservoirs and watershed it wants to sell to industries, either existing or those seeking to relocate to the city or service area in Lycoming County, said Michael Miller, authority executive director and Wendy Walter, authority director of compliance and safety.
Mayor Derek Slaughter said such over abundance of the natural resource is a prime reason industries need to consider the city to be their home.
"We have about 12.5 million gallons of very good water available," Miller said.
However, the authority is selling about 5 million gallons per day.
That leaves 7 million gallons per day to be sold.
The authority derives its water from two reservoirs, each containing 530 million gallons or over 1 billion gallons, and wellfields located in a 10,000-acre watershed in the nearby Mosquito Valley.
Water goes through pipes to a filtration plant and then goes through pipes to industries, businesses and residences where meters measure the usage.
The high quality of the water from the nearby reservoirs and the treatment of it is credited to the foresight of the authority boards of the past and present.
The authority acts independently of city government, enabling it to set rates on cost of water, which is at $6.10 per 1,000 gallons of usage, Miller said.
The sale of excess quality water helps to keep the rates as low as possible because the extra revenue can offset operational costs.
Water infrastructure improvements are considered a high priority for the city as it looks to find ways to best invest $25.4 million in American Rescue Plan funds, Slaughter said.
Slaughter noted it's possible to use a portion of the pandemic relief funds on infrastructure.
"We want to utilize the money so that we have the largest impact on the city," Slaughter said. "The goal is to invest wisely to offset anything that otherwise would go back to taxpayers and rate-payers," he said.
"We are blessed here to have high quality water in Williamsport and the surrounding areas the water authority provides," Slaughter said.
If there is a new or existing businesses that uses water, the authority has plenty of capacity, using only one-third of what it is able to provide. For industry that is open to relocate or expand, the best quality water in the area is an absolute advantage, he said.
The authority serves the city, South Williamsport, DuBoistown, Old Lycoming Township, Loyalsock Township, Woodward Township and portions of Armstrong Township.