Small water system may connect with Mount Gretna Authority

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

For the past three years, the Mount Gretna Authority and the small Timber Service Corp. have been working on ways to connect the two water systems.

Last month, they took the first official step toward connecting the systems as PennDOT issued a highway occupancy permit to the authority to allow boring under state Route 117 for a pipe to join the two.

“A lot of the leg work is finished on the project,” William Care, public works director, told the authority board at a meeting April 6. “But we still need information on all aspects of turning ownership of the well over to the authority and upgrading of the pump system.”

Located in the Timber Hills section of Mount Gretna, Timber Service Corp. provides water to 16 homes and Timbers Restaurant. It draws its water from a 400-foot-deep well that was drilled by the Pennsylvania National Guard, Care said. Yield is about 40 gallons/minute.

Interest is high among Timber Service customers to join the authority to cut costs, said Care, who is one of those 16 customers and who maintains the water system. Connecting the two also will enable adding a fire hydrant at Oak Street and Timber Road, he said.

For the authority, the benefit is the addition of a fourth well to its system without incurring the costs of developing and drilling a new water source.

Care told the board he didn’t yet have a cost estimate for the project, as the two systems continue to work out construction details. Once the project has an estimated cost, the authority plans to apply for grants to help with financing, he said.

Care also told the board that the authority’s application for renewal of its permit for the wastewater treatment plant is still under review by DEP. The current permit expires in May. In a related matter, Care said that DEP recently inspected the plant. A formal report is forthcoming, but no violations were noted.

An executive session was held after the meeting to discuss a personnel matter. No action was taken.

In other business, Care reported:

• Water usage was 732,600 gallons in March, lower than average for the month. Care attributed that to conservation efforts.
• The wastewater planted treated 2,212,000 gallons in March, also below average.
• The authority recorded rainfall of 4.62 inches. Care noted that the area is still in a moderate drought.

The Mount Gretna Authority meets at 6 p.m. on the first Monday of every month in the borough office. The next meeting is scheduled for Monday, May 4. Meetings are open to the public.