City of Lebanon Authority approves study to identify new water supplies

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The City of Lebanon Authority (CoLA) board approved Monday a water supply study to identify new water sources that could be tapped to meet future demand and growth.

The study by engineering firm Black & Veatch should be completed by late this year or early 2027, CoLA consultant Jon Beers told the board. Cost of the study is not to exceed $140,000.

The study will estimate future capacity needs for water based on vacant land in and current zoning of the municipalities served by CoLA.

“The biggest key is where there is still vacant industrial land,” Beers said. “That’s the wild card — you never know what industry you will get.”

Businesses and industries with water needs of 700,000 gallons per day to 1 mgd periodically “sniff around,” said Tom Deitzler, CoLA executive director, in an email Tuesday. Those businesses have included juice companies, food processors and, at one point, a gas-fired power plant.

So far, CoLA has not been approached by anyone representing a data center, but “data centers are a driving factor for water study update,” Deitzler added.

“With this study, we can say, ‘we can only give you so much — otherwise, you need to help us look for and secure additional supply,’” Beers said.

In 2013, Black & Veatch completed a similar study, which concluded that the authority was well positioned to meet demand in years with average rainfall and no operational challenges, Deitzler said. But CoLA’s supplies would be stretched thin should the area experience record-breaking severe drought, he added.

The 2013 report recommended development of groundwater wells, and CoLA drilled a few without finding significant volume, Deitzler said. Increasing storage capacity at Siegrist Reservoir — another recommendation — is still a possibility.

CoLA is permitted to withdraw 11 mgd from its two water sources — the Swatara Creek and the Siegrist Reservoir — and permitted to treat 10 mgd. Currently, usage is about 6 mgd.

Until recently, daily usage was higher as close to 3 mgd were lost because of leaks in older pipes in CoLA’s distribution system. Many of those pipes have been replaced, and ongoing leak-detection equipment has reduced the amount of water lost to 1.4 mgd, Deitler said.

In other business, Deitzler told the board that CoLA had received a report on EPA’s inspection of the water system that occurred in June 2024. No violations were noted.

Deitzler also reported installation of new meter reading equipment continues with 2,500 old units replace and 1,100 more to be replaced. This project should wrap up by end of June.

The board celebrated Beers who had served CoLA as executive director for 25 years and who was attending his last board meeting as an employee.

An executive session was held to discuss personnel matters.

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, May 11. These meetings are open to the public and do not require registration.