North Lebanon Township to turn over water mains to City of Lebanon Authority

This article was funded by LebTown donors as part of our Civic Impact Reporting Project.

North Lebanon Township has begun the process of dedicating almost 12 miles of water mains and service lines constructed as early as 2004 to the City of Lebanon Authority, a process that will take several months to complete and will have little impact on residents’ bills or service, the board learned Monday.

At completion, CoLA will own that system serving about 800 customers in the area northeast of 8th Avenue and Maple Street, including the Briar Lake and Sweetbriar developments.

“The township will have to gather information about the system, legal descriptions of any rights-of-way, check all valves and hydrants and find a third party to test the system for any leaks,” CoLA executive director Jon Beers told the board Monday. “This could take through the summer.”

CoLA has been billing those residents ever since the mains were put in 20 years ago including collecting a debt service charge for construction of the mains and service lines. When the dedication occurs, residents might see a slight reduction in their water bills as there will no longer be a debt service charge.

The board also heard about a proposed water system interconnect between Cornwall Borough, which depends upon CoLA for water, and the West Cornwall Township Municipal Authority, which has its own water supply and distribution system.

Having an interconnect would allow Cornwall to provide water to West Cornwall and vice versa in case of emergencies such as pump failures, large fires, or contaminated water.

“This is a new item on the agenda,” Beers told the board. “Cornwall and West Cornwall have been talking about this for a long time.”

After holding an executive session to discuss the matter, the board voted against being a direct party in the interconnect agreement but stipulated CoLA needs to review and consent to it as Cornwall would be supplying CoLA water to West Cornwall Township.

Beers also updated the board on continued efforts to identify the material of its service lines from its water mains to curb stops. CoLA’s records indicate that of its 21,000 service lines, 400 are confirmed lead while 1,800 are of unknown material.

Read More: City of Lebanon Authority investigates material of customers’ water lines

For decades, lead was the material of choice for plumbing because of its resistance to cracking. Its use was banned in 1991 because of health issues related to lead poisoning.

Flint, Michigan’s water crisis was precipitated when lead concentration jumped due to corrosion in the water system’s lead pipes.

CoLA routinely treats its water to control corrosion, and testing has confirmed water is lead-free. A one-day test with a stringent protocol of at least 30 properties with known lead pipes is planned for August.

In other business, the board approved payment of the following construction invoices for the wastewater treatment plant improvement project:

• $1,021,500, Pact Two LLC, general construction.
• $13,140, Garden Spot Mechanical, plumbing.
• $93,567, Garden Spot Mechanical, HVAC.
• $63,650, Garden Spot Electric, electric.

The City of Lebanon Authority Board meets at 2311 Ridgeview Road, Lebanon, on the second Monday of each month at 3 p.m. The next meeting will be Monday, June 14. These meetings are open to the public and do not require registration.