17607_PMAA_Authority_June_2024

municipalauthorities.org | 13 C hambersburg W astewater T reatment P lant B ackground and H istory By Lance Anderson, P.E., Director of Water and Wastewater, Borough of Chambersburg 1912 WWTP Facility: Operational August 1, 1912 1938 Upgrade 1957 Upgrade 1978 Upgrade In 1910-1911, the Borough of Chambersburg decided to obtain its water supply from the State Forest at Caledonia. It was necessary to obtain a permit from the Pennsylvania State Health Department. When the State Health Department issued a permit for the right to the water of Birch Run, it also provided that for this right, the Borough of Chambersburg was to install “a Sanitary Sewerage System with a proper Disposal Plant of a capacity sufficient to take care of the town for 20 years to come.” The same bond issue, which provided funds for the construction of the water supply line between Caledonia and Chambersburg, also provided for sufficient funds for $65,000 to put in a Sanitary Sewerage System in Chambersburg. The Finance Department is the proud possessor of bond number 25 for $500, an “Improvement Bond of 1910” Series A which carried a 4.5% interest rate. This note matured in 1915. The current Borough’s logo is adapted from a depiction of City Hall found on that bond. This original system was constructed and put into service August 1, 1912, and portions of this initial system are still in service today. From the time of the initial construction, the Borough has made continuous improvements with major improvements in 1939, 1959, 1978, 1997 and 2013 to the treatment facility. Following is a list of major facility milestones: • 1938 Upgrade: Upgrades were completed in October 1939 at a cost of $217,715.41 (45% was funded through a grant). Engineers indicated that the Plant capacity was 2 million gallons per day (mgd). • 1948: A Waste Water Treatment Plant laboratory was established and the plant processes have been monitored for efficient operation ever since. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection accredits the current laboratory facility. • 1957 Upgrade: Upgrades were completed in 1959 at a cost of $990,330.13. Continued on page 40.