SHARPSVILLE Borough considers options for plant

Customers can expect to see their water rate jump by as much as 50 percent if a new plant is built.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR SHARON BUREAU
SHARPSVILLE, Pa. -- Should the borough spend up to $1.5 million to upgrade its nearly 50-year-old water treatment plant or spend about $3 million to replace it?
Borough officials say the days of the old plant, built in 1953, are numbered and they are considering replacing it.
"That's the direction almost everyone is leaning in," said Councilman Guy Moderelli, chairman of borough council's water committee.
"We're still using 1950s technology," he said of the old plant, noting that it isn't efficient, though it has always passed Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection tests for water safety.
Whatever council finally decides to do, it doesn't have the funds on hand to finance it and will have to borrow money, which will require a rate increase to pay off the debt, Moderelli said.
Average rate
The water rate paid by the majority of residential customers, who use 5,000 gallons of water or less each month, is $20 a month, and that could rise to about $30 per month with a $3 million plant replacement project, Moderelli said.
Consumers Pennsylvania Water Co., which owns a plant in Sharon that provides potable water for a wide segment of the Shenango Valley and surrounding areas, expressed interest in buying Sharpsville's water plant nearly two years ago.
However, borough council said at the time that it wasn't interested in selling and would prefer to upgrade or replace its plant, which draws water from the Shenango River.
"It's an emotional issue in town," Moderelli said, noting there is a certain pride in the borough's providing its own water.
Discussing options
Council will meet with representatives of U.S. Filter of Townsend, Md., at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Sharpsville High School Lecture Room to discuss options for a new plant.
Borough Manager Michael Wilson said he thinks the plant won't be able to meet more stringent federal Environmental Protection Agency guidelines, expected within the next three to five years, for water treatment plants.
It would cost between $1 million and $1.5 million to upgrade the plant, which would still have a very limited life, he said.
The plant has had periodic improvements, but "You can only remodel so much in an old facility," Wilson said, adding that the borough could replace it with a modern, efficient facility at a cost estimated at about $3 million.
Modular system
U.S. Filter builds water plants all around the country, he said, noting that Sharpsville is looking at a modular system that can be easily expanded as the demand grows.
The company is expected to make a specific recommendation on a new plant based on the borough's specific needs, he said.
The old plant can produce 1 million gallons of water daily, and the borough is using about 750,000 gallons a day now with about 170,000 of those gallons being sent to customers in adjacent South Pymatuning Township.
The borough would be looking at a plant capable of providing 1.5 million gallons per day, though the exact size would be determined by the DEP, which limits how much water the plant can draw from the river, Wilson said.
Moderelli said a modern plant would be much more efficient and cost a lot less to operate.
Fewer workers
Sharpsville has five operators for its plant now, but a new facility could be run with as few as two, he said.
Sharpsville is spending about $600,000 a year to run its plant, Wilson said.
Moderelli said the borough wouldn't look at laying off any water plant workers if a new plant is built, but might transfer some of them into the street department and gradually eliminate positions through attrition.