Penn Township to distribute survey to gauge interest in water connection
PENN TWP — The township is looking to improve how it's about 5,000 residents get water and is distributing a survey to gauge their interest in connecting their homes to the closest public freshwater system.
The survey will be distributed to residents of certain developments in Penn Township.
“We’re trying to assess the need and the willingness to accept an affordable freshwater solution for them to buy into, as opposed to what they’ve got now,” said township supervisor Samuel Ward at a meeting Tuesday evening, June 11.
While Pennsylvania requires its residents to connect to an available wastewater system (which, in Penn Township, is supplied by the Saxonburg Area Authority), it does not require connection to a freshwater system.
In Penn Township, a smattering of residents receive freshwater from the Municipal Water Authority of Adams Township. Most of those who have connected to the that system are residents and businesses along Route 8 and Airport Road.
However, most residents of Penn Township receive their water from wells, which sometimes must be treated.
Dave Trainor, owner of the Hardwood Cafe, said he recently hooked up his business to the Adams system and saved a massive amount of money by no longer having to treat and flush his water.
“My sewage cost has gone down by a full third, which is the cost of the water,” Trainor said. “$1,200 is what it would cost a month for my sewage through SAA. Now I’m paying anywhere from $600 to 700. And I don’t have to carry salt. That’s an important fact.”
According to Ward, none of the residential developments in Penn Township are connected to the Adams system. However, there are proposals to extend the system to the Port-O-Call development, as well as the Shadow Ridge housing development, the latter of which still is on the drawing board.
The intent of the survey, according to Ward, is to demonstrate to the Adams municipal water authority the level of demand for municipal water service in Penn Township, which would reduce the average cost of water service for each resident to hook up.
As such, Ward is encouraging residents to fill out the survey and spread it to other residents to make sure it is as comprehensive as possible.
“The greater participation in an existing development, the less the cost,” wrote Ward in a letter addressed to township residents. “MWAAT can use available, low-interest financing for new freshwater service construction costs.”
In an earlier study commissioned by Penn Township, the Adams authority assumed few residents would take the chance to hook up to municipal water when given the chance, as municipal water is not mandatory in Pennsylvania.
“We found out that they used a very low percentage of people that would tap in,” Ward said. “They’ve already turned out a price for the area beyond Larchwood (Drive). It was astronomical and not affordable.”
Ward said the existing Adams system would need to be expanded to accommodate the residential properties in Penn Township, assuming the demand for public municipal water is there.
