Union Twp. included in $6.9 million water line renovation
The municipality will be part of a nearly $7 million project to replace aging water lines over the next few months.
Pennsylvania American Water recently announced the start of construction to replace more than five miles of aging water main lines in the greater Pittsburgh area. The goal is to improve service reliability and increase water flow for firefighting.
The effort will include Boyka Drive, Norton Avenue and Walnut Street in the township.
Steve Parrish, chairman of the township board of supervisors, said the new lines are already in place and that customers are waiting to be tapped into the system.
"That will happen when the weather breaks," Parrish said.
The township official added that the water company will conduct restoration work along the berms of the streets when the weather breaks as well.
Parrish said the project will affect approximately 60 customers in the Boyka Plan. He called the replacement lines a welcome relief.
"Some of those lines were only 1 1.2-to2-inch galvanized water lines, and the new line is 8-inch," Parrish said. "People will get much more volume of water with better pressure."
Union Township's project is just a small part of the package.
"In some cases, we're replacing lines that date back to the early 1900s," said Jasun Stanton, Pennsylvania American manager of field operations for the Pittsburgh District.
"Our continued reinvestments will provide improved reliability and fire protection for our customers."
These latest improvements follow the company's investment of nearly $63.4 million in 2010 to install more than 20 miles of water main in southwestern Pennsylvania.
In addition, the company continues to work on the approximately $101 million upgrade of its Pittsburgh area water treatment facilities. The plant upgrades started in June.
Pennsylvania American expects to complete installation of the new ductile iron pipe, service connection tie-ins and final paving restoration by July, weather permitting.
During the projects, customers might experience temporary service interruptions, discolored water and lower-than-normal water pressure.
For more information, call the Pennsylvania American customer service center at 1 (800) 565-7292.
