Overview:

Pat Mandes of Lehigh County Authority (LCA) and Craig Murray of Malcolm Pirnie reviewed drivers for the capacity project, which included analysis of both high-growth and low-growth scenarios as well as population projects provided by the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission (LVPC). The need for an additional 4 million gallons of treatment capacity is projected for the 5 to 10 year time horizon based on these  projections.

All options to expand treatment capacity that were discussed in previous meetings remain on the table, but additional work is being done to refine capital costs, define life cycle / operational costs, and then further analyze non-monetary impacts of each of the options. A few highlights of work that has been completed, that was shared with the  committee:

• Preliminary evaluation of Natural Treatment Alternatives (including land application of treated water) has been completed, and limitations identified based on available land for this use and agricultural requirements for depth of installation that would rule out certain technologies.
• Delaware River Basin Commission guidance has been provided, which concluded that the Allentown treatment plant upgrades would trigger advanced treatment requirements for a portion of the existing and  all of the new treatment capacity. About 31 million gallons per day of the City’s  existing treatment capacity would be “grandfathered” and require no additional treatment  upgrades.
• Allentown and LCA representatives have met to review capital costs in some detail, and agree on the new calculations as presented to the committee.

Click here to download the full presentation.

Reallocation Subcommittee:

Bill Erdman of Keystone Consulting Engineers provided a subcommittee update. He explained that the subcommittee has made contact with all municipal signatories that are carrying excess unused treatment allocation, opening the door for additional discussion on how to reallocate that capacity through purchase or lease agreements with LCA and/or its signatories.

Pat Mandes thanked the subcommittee members for their work! Since the subcommittee completed their contacts, LCA has begun discussions with all of the signatories about possible lease or purchase of excess allocation, and these discussions are ongoing.

In addition to this effort, all residential properties that previously purchased allocation at an Equivalent Dwelling Unit (EDU) level higher than 250 gallons per day have be re-rated down to 250 gallons per day. This reallocation method has brought about 400,000 gallons per day of allocation back into the pool, which adds a cushion for the long-term capacity program to commence.

Next Steps & Options Analysis:

Chris Borick, committee chairman, explained that the steering committee was formed to provide feedback to LCA, the City of Allentown and other municipal leaders who must consider all options as they develop the project through the Act 537 planning process. This work will begin this fall.

To help the committee members organize their feedback, and to consider non-monetary impacts of the options, a worksheet was developed for the committee’s use. This worksheet will be the primary topic of discussion at the next meeting, which will be scheduled for late October.

Click here to download the Options Analysis worksheet.

Infiltration & Inflow:

Due to extended discussion at the meeting, and missing members who had expressed interest in the topic, the steering committee will be reconvened for a dedicated meeting to review infiltration and inflow (I&I) issues. While this topic is not the intended focus of the steering committee, all members, LCA, Allentown and municipalities are concerned about sewer system overflows and impacts of I&I on the
system. Therefore, a dedicated meeting will be arranged to allow for more discussion and questions about this topic.

Attendance:

• Chris Borick – Muhlenberg College
• Bill Ahlert – Emmaus & Upper Milford Environmental Advisory Council, Chair
• Bill Erdman – Keystone Consulting Engineers, Municipal Engineer
• John Hayes – Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce
• Geoff Reese – Lehigh Valley Planning Commission
• Rich Young – City of Allentown, Public Works Director
• Ed Pawlowski – City of Allentown, Mayor
• Pat Mandes – Lehigh County Authority, Director of Wastewater Services
• Liesel Adam – Lehigh County Authority, Communications Manager
• Aurel Arndt – Lehigh County Authority, General Manager
• Craig Murray – Malcolm Pirnie, Engineer

Read the full story…

DRBC Requirements:

Pat Mandes of Lehigh County Authority (LCA) and Bob Kerchusky of Allentown reviewed results of a recent joint meeting with DRBC during which the treatment capacity project was discussed. In particular, LCA and Allentown sought answers to questions about how DRBC would apply its new “special protection waters” requirements to the options currently under consideration for expanding the Allentown or LCA treatment plants.

DRBC officials concluded that approximately 31 million gallons of  Allentown’s treatment capacity would be “grandfathered” as that was the flow levels at the plant during 2004, which was the year the new regulation was based on. Therefore, since the plant expansion would increase Allentown’s treatment capacity to 44 million gallons, the more stringent treatment requirements would be applied to approximately 13 million gallons of plant capacity.

Over the next two months or so, LCA and Allentown engineers will be reviewing this information and formulating new cost estimates for the options. In particular, the cost of the Allentown expansion option will be re-evaluated as the original estimate was based on a full upgrade to all 44 million gallons of treatment. Allentown and LCA have committed to working together on this evaluation to ensure results are comparable.

Reallocation Options:

Aurel Arndt presented reallocation concepts and options that could provide short-term capacity to the system while long-term options are being pursued.  The primary concern related to reallocation is that municipalities and customers have purchased certain volumes of treatment capacity, but are not using it all. Can this unused capacity be sold or leased back into the pool, or can it simply be taken and sold to others?

In the first scenario, where capacity is sold or leased back to the pool, there is general agreement that a long-term solution would be needed in order to provide assurance to the entities who are leasing the capacity to others that future capacity will be available when needed. Therefore, this option may provide some short-term relief, but a long-term plan would need to be developed quickly in order to implement such capacity lease agreements.

The group discussed at length the viability the second scenario, where unused capacity is simply taken and sold to new users. Using actual flows (vs. capacity allocations) as an indicator of usage, the unused portion could be sold to others, but at the risk of over-extending the system.  In essence, treatment capacity would be sold twice, first to the existing user who originally purchased it, and secondly to the new user who needs the unused portion of the first user’s capacity.

The general consensus of the steering committee was to continue pursuing reallocation options, possibly through the use of a subcommittee, which may allow some short-term relief while a permanent solution is being developed.

Conclusion of Steering Committee Work?

 This was the last regularly scheduled meeting of the steering committee, although additional follow-up work will be presented as it becomes available. In addition, the committee will be asked to participate in a feedback process to help facilitate collection of the community’s concerns, questions and ideas about the options presented thus far.

Attendance:

• Chris Borick – Muhlenberg College
• Bill Ahlert – Emmaus & Upper Milford Environmental Advisory Council, Chair
• Bill Erdman – Keystone Consulting Engineers, Municipal Engineer
• Charlie Marcon – Lehigh Valley Partnership
• Brad Osborne – South Whitehall Township, Board President
• Brian Nagle – Lehigh County Authority, Board of Directors
• Cindy Feinberg – Lehigh County, Director of Community & Economic Development
• Deana Zosky – Renew Lehigh Valley
• Chris Kocher – Wildlands Conservancy
• Dan Koplish – Allentown resident
• Rick Koze – Kay Builders
• Pat Blondell – Coca – Cola Syrup Plant
• John Hayes – Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce
• Kathy Wade – Boston Beer Company
• Geoff Reese – Lehigh Valley Planning Commission
• Pat Mandes – Lehigh County Authority, Director of Wastewater Services
• Liesel Adam – Lehigh County Authority, Communications Manager
• Aurel Arndt – Lehigh County Authority, General Manager
• Bob Kerchusky – City of Allentown, Water Resources Director
• Craig Murray – Malcolm Pirnie, Engineer

The committee also discussed treatment plant bypasses that occur during extreme wet-weather conditions. City officials explained that a bypass point was created by design as an approved method of handling wet-weather peak flows. This was an approved and permitted method when the plant was design and up until 1986. Now, regulators have decided that treatment plant bypasses are no longer permitted, and so all the municipalities connected to the sewer system must work together to remove the rainwater from the system.

Attendance:

• Chris Borick – Muhlenberg College
• Rich Young – City of Allentown, Director of Public Works
• Bill Ahlert – Emmaus & Upper Milford Environmental Advisory Council, Chair
• Bill Erdman – Keystone Consulting Engineers, Municipal Engineer
• Charlie Marcon – Lehigh Valley Partnership
• Brad Osborne – South Whitehall Township, Board President
• Brian Nagle – Lehigh County Authority, Board of Directors
• Pat Mandes – Lehigh County Authority, Director of Wastewater Services
• Liesel Adam – Lehigh County Authority, Communications Manager
• Aurel Arndt – Lehigh County Authority, General Manager
• Bob Kerchusky – City of Allentown, Water Resources Director

An evaluation of land-application options is required by the Delaware River Basin Commission due to the Delaware River’s status as “Special Protection Waters,” which required utilities seeking to expand or add new wastewater treatment capacity to review natural treatment alternatives to stream discharges for the treated wastewater.

In his presentation, Mr. Kelso provided an overview of the variety of options that are available, and the advantages and disadvantages of each. Among the alternatives that may be available include underground disposal through drip irrigation systems or groundwater injection systems, surface applications such as  spray irrigation of hay crops, or even resuse of the treated wastewater for golf course irrigation or snow making.

What We Learned (the highlights)

1.    Each land-based disposal option has a different impact on the level of initial treatment that may be required at the wastewater treatment plant, based on how the treated water is being used. For example, growing plants require water and nutrients, and soils will natrually filter out other materials that may be present in the treated water, so water used for irrigation of hay crops may require less initial treatment (and less cost) than water that is disposed of under the surface, which would need to meet safety standards for drinking water.

2.    It was also important for the committee to learn that some system are seasonal and would require significant cooperation among municipalities and land-owners, and significant storage capacity. For example, a spray irrigation system, would require up to 100 days of storage capacity to accommodate the winter (non-irrigation) season, and other accommodations would need to be made to address farmers’ schedules for planting, growing, harvest, etc. 

3.    To evaluate whether any land-based disposal options are even feasible for the Central Lehigh County area, a soil and hydrogeology study will be conducted to determine if the soil composition can accept the volume of water to be discharged without negative impacts such as sinkholes or water quality degradation.

4.    The concept of a land-based disposal method for treated wastewater has some potential benefits for the region, including recharge of groundwater and possible preservation of green space and farmland.

5.    The amount of land that would be required varies significantly based on the method used, but disposal systems can be added on in a modular fashion to allow for slower, more gradual growth of the system. In addition, a combination of disposal methods could be used and added over time as the capacity is needed.

The committee offered feedback and asked questions for LCA, Allentown and other project partners to consider such as groundwater impacts, water quality standards, impacts on our carbonate geology, and more.

Attendance:

• Chris Borick  -  Muhlenberg College
• Rich Young  -  City of Allentown, Director of Public Works
• Bill Ahlert  -  Emmaus & Upper Milford Environmental Advisory Council, Chair
• Bill Erdman  -  Keystone Consulting Engineers, Municipal Engineer
• Cindy Feinberg  -  Lehigh County, Director of Community & Economic Development
• Charlie Marcon  -  Lehigh Valley Partnership
• Brad Osborne  -  South Whitehall Township, Board President
• Deana Zosky  -  Renew Lehigh Valley
• Chris Kocher  -  Wildlands Conservancy
• Dan Koplish  -  Allentown resident
• Rick Koze  -  Kay Builders
• Pat Blondell  -  Coca  -  Cola Syrup Plant
• Brian Nagle  -  Lehigh County Authority, Board of Directors
• Brian Kellogg  -  Boston Beer Company
• John Hayes  -  Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce
• Ed Hozza  -  Whitehall Township, Mayor
• Jarrett Witt  -  Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation
• Jeff Zehr  -  Lehigh County Farmland Preservation Program
• Pat Mandes  -  Lehigh County Authority, Director of Wastewater Services
• Liesel Adam  -  Lehigh County Authority, Communications Manager
• Aurel Arndt  -  Lehigh County Authority, General Manager

During the presentation, Craig explained the current sewer flows through the plant in Fogelsville and how the plant could be upgraded to meet regulatory requirements for full treatment. In essence, existing flow through the plant to the City of Allentown would be maintained, and new flow would be diverted to new final treatment process within the LCA facility. Discharge options reviewed included new outfalls along the Jordan Creek or Lehigh River, or land application sites in western Lehigh County.

Because the plant was designed to treat high-strength industrial wastewater, upgrades to a full-treatment process is feasible from a technology standpoint, although the committee is being asked to review other non-technical issues such as regional impacts of various options, cost allocation, environmental concerns, etc.

Baseline vs. Wet-Weather Infiltration and Inflow

During the meeting, Craig also reviewed the issue of infiltration and inflow of clear water into the sewer system, which adds both baseline flow through the system and extreme peaks in flow during wet-weeather events. The committee discussed in some detail the USEPA consent order placed on LCA, Allentown and all municipal signatories to eliminate sewer system overflows by 2014. This issue is being addressed through a partnership of several municipalities in western Lehigh County and LCA, as well as by Allentown and its signatories. However, elimination of wet-weather sewer overflows will not add treatment capacity to the system, which is the focus of this committee’s work.

Additional discussion continued on the topic of dry-weather baseline infiltration, in which groundwater can enter the sewer system during dry weather, adding to the baseline flow of sewage to the Allentown treatment plant.

LCA’s general manager, Aurel Arndt, explained that this baseline infiltration is difficult to quantify, and reducing baseline infiltration is typically very costly, averaging about $60 per gallon of capacity recovered. The extensive flow modeling conducted to date suggests that the regional sewer system has  moderate levels of baseline infiltration, which, if eliminated, would not provide adequate capacity to meet future needs. For the investmet required to address infiltration and inflow, all municipalities, LCA, Allentown and regulatory agencies such as PA-DEP and USEPA agree that focusing on reducing wet-weather peak flows to eliminate sewer system overflows is the appropriate focus for this type of investment.

Lead by plant manager Bill Haberstroh, the committee then took a walking tour of the LCA wastewater pretreatment plant, which highlighted the conceptual upgrade options outlined in the earlier presentation.

Attendance:

• Chris Borick – Muhlenberg College
• Brian Kellogg – Boston Beer Company  -  alternate
• Bill Ahlert – Emmaus & Upper Milford Environmental Advisory Council, Chair
• Bill Erdman – Keystone Consulting Engineers, Municipal Engineer
• Deana Zosky – Renew Lehigh Valley
• Jacob Brown – Rep. Doug Reichley, Staff
• Brad Osborne – South Whitehall Township, Board President
• Rick Koze – Kay Builders
• John Hayes – Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce
• Pat Blondell – Coca – Cola Syrup Plant
• Pete Reinke – Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation
• Aurel Arndt – Lehigh County Authority, General Manager
• Bob Kerchusky – City of Allentown, Water Resources Director
• Pat Mandes – Lehigh County Authority, Director of Wastewater Services
• Craig Murray – Malcolm Pirnie, Engineer
• Liesel Adam – Lehigh County Authority, Communications Manager
• Bill Haberstroh – CH2MHill

• What is driving the need for additonal wastewater treatment capacity?
• What is the level of urgency for this decision?
• Is this an issue of actual capacity needs or how the capacity is allocated among all users? In other words, can we solve the problem through re-allocation of existing capacity?
• What work has been done so far to address these questions?
• What is the steering committee’s mission?

Lehigh County Authority’s general manager, Aurel Arndt, will be attending the meeting today to provide background to help answer these questions. In addition, committee members received key sections of the engineering study “Work Plan” to review for today’s meeting. The Work Plan documents are available for download in the links section of the lvwaterforum website.

Click here to view Mr. Arndt’s presentation.

Attendance:

• Chris Borick – Muhlenberg College
• Rich Young – City of Allentown, Director of Public Works
• Bill Ahlert – Emmaus & Upper Milford Environmental Advisory Council, Chair
• Bill Erdman – Keystone Consulting Engineers, Municipal Engineer
• Cindy Feinberg – Lehigh County, Director of Community & Economic Development
• Charlie Marcon – Lehigh Valley Partnership
• Brad Osborne – South Whitehall Township, Board President
• Kathy Wade – Boston Beer Company
• Asa Hughes – Lehigh County Authority, Board of Directors  -  alternate
• Deana Zosky – Renew Lehigh Valley
• Jacob Brown – Rep. Doug Reichley, Staff
• Chris Kocher – Wildlands Conservancy
• Dan Koplish – Allentown resident
• Rick Koze – Kay Builders
• Pat Blondell – Coca – Cola Syrup Plant
• Pete Reinke – Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation
• Aurel Arndt – Lehigh County Authority, General Manager
• Pat Mandes – Lehigh County Authority, Director of Wastewater Services
• Liesel Adam – Lehigh County Authority, Communications Manager

The meeting agenda included:

1. Welcome
2. Introduction of committee members
3. Committee meeting scheduling
4. Presentation by Craig Murray, Malcolm Pirnie, of wastewater capacity planning work completed to date
5. Questions & Discussion

However, item 4 of the agenda was postponed due to lengthy discussion on the committee’s purpose and timeframe. While the original committee schedule called for a limited number of meetings over 2-3 months, the complexity of the issue may require more time for a full analysis. In addition, Mayor Pawlowski and Rich Young from the City of Allentown provided some additonal information on options such as reallocation of existing capacity (vs. capacity expansion) and other ways to upgrade the City’s Kline’s Island Treatment Plant at a lower cost than originally estimated. These options will be discussed further at future meetings and may require additional time to fully evaluate.

Overall, the discussion illustrated the complexity of this issue and the multitude of issues and interests that must be considered in order to determine the best wastewater solution for Central Lehigh County and the region in general.

Attendance:

• Chris Borick – Muhlenberg College
• Ed Pawlowski – City of Allentown, Mayor
• Rich Young – City of Allentown, Director of Public Works
• Bill Ahlert – Emmaus & Upper Milford Environmental Advisory Council, Chair
• Bill Erdman – Keystone Consulting Engineers, Municipal Engineer
• Brian Nagle – Lehigh County Authority, Board of Directors
• Cindy Feinberg – Lehigh County, Director of Community & Economic Development
• Charlie Marcon – Lehigh Valley Partnership
• Geoff Reese – Lehigh Valley Planning Commission
• Steven Bliss – Renew Lehigh Valley  -  alternate
• Brad Osborne – South Whitehall Township, Board President
• Pat Mandes – Lehigh County Authority, Director of Wastewater Services
• Craig Murray – Malcolm Pirnie, Engineer
• Liesel Adam – Lehigh County Authority, Communications Manager

Also, the materials presented at the forum event are now available here throughout the lvwaterforum.net web site. Please take time to review what is presented here, and let us know what you think by using the comment section of the meeting agenda, posting a comment on the public input page, or emailing us at input@lvwaterforum.net.

1. The Lower Delaware River’s reclassification to “Special Protection Waters” status by the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) has increased cost estimates significantly for all options, but most significantly for any alternative that requires redesign of Allentown’s Kline’s Island Treatment Plant (KITP).
2. DRBC requires a detailed analysis of non-discharging options, such as land application, in the review of additional discharge permits for waters classified as “Special Protection Waters.” Whether a land-application option is feasible or not, some public funds must be allocated to research it.
3. Additional requirements may be required to meet new Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) requirements under development by the Pa. Department of Environmental Protection, which would increase costs for all options. These additional costs are still being researched.
4. Regardless of which option is selected some treatment plant upgrades are necessary to meet regulatory / permit requirements, including approximately $9 million in upgrades to LCA’s pretreatment plant, approximately $79 million to Allentown’s KITP to meet compliance requirements, and approximately $41 million to Allentown’s KITP to address or resolve wet-weather impacts.
5. Options involving the upgrade of LCA’s pretreatment plant to full treatment may be less costly than expanding KITP, but would require careful consideration of existing agreements between all project partners.