Now that the construction phase of Apollo's stormwater/sewage separation project has ended, residents can look forward to street and property restoration.
Sippel Contracting soon will start replanting grass; replacing curbs, sidewalks and street signs; and restoring sewer inspection port locations.
The contractor will have 18 months to restore the project area, including follow-up repaving where streets might settle.
The new pipes laid beneath Apollo streets will carry sewage. The original pipes will carry stormwater, much of it from residential downspouts.
The $7 million project was paid for with a PennVEST grant.
The federally mandated project separated common piping used for both stormwater and sewage. During heavy storms, the pipes would be over capacity, causing raw sewage to flow into the Kiski River.
Because Apollo is one of the Alle-Kiski Valley's oldest communities, some pre-1900 sewer hook-ups were made of wood.
"Much thanks needs to be given to engineer Rich Craft of Olsen & Associates for the literally thousands of hours he has spent on this project to make it come under budget," said Borough Manager Lori Weng-Tamasy.
The project hasn't been without setbacks. Some utility lines were mismapped, creating problems when excavators dug for line installation.
It has yet to be determined who will pay for the additional work created by mismapping. Borough officials, engineers, PennVEST, Sippel and the state departments of Environmental Protection and Labor and Industry are meeting to resolve that issue.
Eventually, the utilities will be responsible for updating and remapping the borough.
PennDOT will be in charge of approving curbing and restoration on state roads such as First, Kiski and South Pennsylvania avenues.
It was reported earlier that PennDOT would inspect the tap-ins, but those will be done by certified inspectors hired by individual property owners.
About 22 Kiski Township homes are on Apollo's new system. More will be added later.
One mystery remains: About seven homes in the area of South Second and Third avenues need to be dye-tested to find out the origin of raw sewage that is leaking.
Those homes are hooked into a private line that may have broken, and the problem has been worsened by an unusually rainy spring.
Another issue for Apollo homeowners is the outcome of a lawsuit filed by Leechburg and Vandergrift boroughs against the Kiski Valley Water Pollution Control Authority's assessments to member communities for treatment plant expansion, based partly on compliance with the stormwater/sewage separation mandate.
A Westmoreland County judge ruled that member municipalities must join Leechburg and Vandergrift in the suit, even if communities such as Apollo have complied with the mandate.
