17607_PMAA_Authority_June_2024

42 The Authority | June 2024 systems were installed by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the AWA in the early 2000s. AWA employees sample each of these systems quarterly to ensure that they are operating and being maintained properly. The samples that are collected are sent to the Bureau of Laboratories (BOL) for analyzation. AWA and the DEP receive the results and keep that data for future projects. Passive treatment systems typically have a lifespan of approximately 20 years. After that 20-year mark, the systems begin to degrade and do not work up to their full potential. This allows some of the impacted water to pass through the system and then sends it into the streams and the reservoirs untreated. Currently, the systems are reaching the end of their lifespan. It is the task of the authority to research all of the data collected over the last two decades. They will then divulge a plan to have each system redesigned and reconstructed to ensure substantial treatment of the impacted abandoned mine water cascading out of the mountain sides. The authority is moving forward by working with the DEP to analyze which systems are proving to be the least effective and creating a sequence for which system receives attention first, second, etc. At this time, the authority is hopeful that each system upgrade can be funded through a series of awarded grants and will not affect customer rates. It is extremely important for the Altoona Water Authority to protect their water sources because they are a crucial part of their daily operations. By protecting the watersheds, it ensures that the authority is able to operate and provide clean drinking water to their customers, while striving to maintain reasonable rates. The AWA owns and operates 11 drinking water reservoirs, serves 75,000 customers, and reaches 11 municipalities. In order to do this safely and efficiently, the authority works diligently with the DEP to ensure that all of their plants are treating water to regulatory standards and that their reservoirs are being maintained, modified, and monitored appropriately for the safety of customers and residents. Relationships Growing with State Agencies One way that the AWA is able to make so much progress on restoring their properties is through grants. A grant that is currently underway is the “Kittanning Run Restoration Plan Assessment” Growing Greener Grant through the DEP. The AWA was awarded this grant in January of 2022. The purpose of this grant is to begin the process of restoring Kittanning Run stream. This will make it possible for the authority to take the water into their reservoirs and aid in their drought resilience plan. The water, as it now flows, comes from abandoned deep mines and strip mines, making it a severely impacted and impaired water source. The flows coming out of this watershed are on average 3.6 million gallons per day (MGD). At the mouth of Kittanning Run (where it could be taken into the reservoir), the water contains on average 14,000 micrograms per liter of iron, elevated levels of aluminum, manganese, sulfates, acidity, dissolved solids and a pH of 3.5. With this grant, the AWA and their partners are working to create a baseline water quality data assessment to continue on with remediating this lifeless, unusable stream. Some of the partners that are assisting and contributing to this study are: Pennsylvanian Department of Altoona article continued from page 16. Big Murph abandoned mine reclamation in progress Big Murph reclamation North slope passive treatment system settling basin Spaghetti hole seep Squatter Falls passive treatment system Squatter Falls pyrolusite bed