Their wait will soon be over. About half-a-dozen families suffering through a delay in moving into the Chapeldale housing plan learned Thursday that they could be in their homes by year's end. They also discovered that their ordeal could've been prevented. Most of Chapeldale sits in Upper Burrell. Several families wanting to buy houses in the Upper Burrell section of the plan have been unable to close on the properties because Washington Township Municipal Authority wouldn't let them tap into sewage lines believed to be in Washington Township. The authority discovered last week that the sewage lines don't cross into Washington Township and informed the would-be homeowners at a special meeting on Thursday that the reason for the discrepancy was that the authority and Chapeldale developer had been reading the wrong map. Authority members and the developer were working with an old map that proposed constructing part of the sewage system in Washington Township. The system of pipes, however, was never built in Washington Township. The proper map shows that the system runs through Upper Burrell close to the line between the two townships. The families now have the go-ahead to tap into the sewage system operated by Westmoreland County Industrial Park Authority. The system was built to serve Westmoreland Business and Research Park. Nicole Bitar, who's been waiting since October to move into the plan, said she was disgusted to learn that an oversight forced her and her children to live the past two months with family while keeping most of what they own in storage. "That is a sin," she said. Authority member Joseph Dalsass said the updated map was created in April 2004. The authority didn't see the map until last week when it asked developer Matt Dickun to provide the plans in an effort to resolve the situation. Dickun told the authority that he didn't know about the updated map until recently and blamed the error on the engineering company he's been working with. Dickun refused to comment to a reporter. "We've been out of our homes for so long because of a drawing," Bitar said, adding that she hoped to have her family in their new home by the end of the year. Most of the other affected families expected to close on their homes in June or July. "This has been very upsetting," Bitar said. "I think we've all been really frustrated with this." Washington Township homes The municipal authority on Thursday also cleared the way for Patrick and Katherine Green to move into the Chapeldale home they plan to buy, which is one of two in the plan that sit in Washington Township. The authority wouldn't let the Greens tap into the WCIPA system, which charges Chapeldale homeowners a sewage rate of $8.86 per 1,000 gallons. The rate is about double the average for other residents in the area. Authority members said they couldn't, in good conscience, sign an agreement that would allow another municipal authority to charge Washington Township residents such a high fee. The sewage lines serving the two Chapeldale homes in Washington Township run through Washington Township. Authority members on Thursday unanimously agreed to let the lines remain and allow for the two homes to be tapped into the system. The authority also agreed to allow four other properties in Washington Township being developed by Dickun for members of his family to be tapped into the system. Each of the homeowners must sign off on the agreement before it takes effect. Green said he plans to sign the agreement. Should Washington Township create its own sewer district in the area in the future, the six homeowners will have to tap into that system as part of the agreement. The township has three sewer districts, one of which is under construction, solicitor Wesley Long said. Most township residents have septic systems.

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