City of Lebanon Authority to meet with DEP to discuss flowby for Siegrist Dam

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

The City of Lebanon Authority (CoLA) will be meeting with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to discuss possibly filing a request for a temporary reprieve from flowby levels called for in its water supply and allocation permit approved in September 2024.

Read More: City of Lebanon Authority nears DEP agreement over 20-year water permit

CoLA deputy director Tom Deitzler informed the board on Monday that a temporary passby request needed to be filed. The meeting with DEP has not yet been scheduled, Deitzler said in a telephone interview on Wednesday.

Last November, CoLA requested a reprieve because Lebanon County was in a drought, and the authority couldn’t meet the flowby requirement of 3.1 million gallons per day (mgd) set by DEP for the Siegrist Dam.

This year, CoLA again can’t meet the flowby requirement for the reservoir, but the issue is not low precipitation. Rather the current 6-inch pipe only allows 1.4 mgd to be released from the dam, Deitzler said.

CoLA’s water supply and allocation permit sets out how much water the Authority needs to withdraw from the Siegrist Dam for adequate flowby to protect both aquatic life and downstream water users. Flowby requirements vary according to time of year with July, August and October considered low-flow months.

In May, the Susquehanna River Basin Commission awarded CoLA a $113,333 grant for a project to add a 12-inch pipe at the dam to allow additional water to be released during low-flow months. The project, estimated to cost $136,000, would keep the existing 6-inch pipe in place.

DEP’s dams division is reviewing the plan for this project, Deitzler said in an email Tuesday.

Deitzler also provided the board with an update about CoLA’s ongoing project to reduce the number of service lines of unknown material, iron or lead running from the authority’s water mains to the curb stops. That number is 2,285, he said.

The number of service lines of unknown material, iron or lead going from curb stops into customers’ properties is 8,965. Those lines are owned by customers and not CoLA.

As part of EPA’s lead-and-copper rule requiring replacement of lead and galvanized metal lines, CoLA is required to identify all pipe material from its mains to inside buildings.

In other business, the board approved several invoices related to the wastewater treatment plant improvement projects. These were for:

• $699,593, Pact Two LLC, general contractor;
• $67,580, Garden Spot Mechanical, plumbing;
• $212,402, Garden Spot Mechanical, HVAC;
• $85,975, Garden Spot Electric, electrical.

The board also passed a resolution posthumously honoring George Christianson’s service to the Authority. Christianson joined the board in January 2008 and served as secretary.

The board held an executive session after the meeting.

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, Nov. 10. These meetings are open to the public and do not require registration.