Monessen sewage fees could double
By KRISTIE LINDEN
klinden@yourmvi.com
Monessen will likely have to double its line usage fee for sewage customers to repay $15 million in loans that will go toward work to improve the city’s sewage infrastructure.
City Engineer Tony Vitale of WEC Engineers told residents Monday night in a public hearing that the project will improve the biggest pipes in town, many of which are made of brick and seem to be failing.
He said pipes that will be repaired with the loan money from the U.S. Department of Agriculture run along 12th, Ninth, Sixth and Third streets in addition to Parente Boulevard.
The USDA has awarded the city two loans for $7.6 million each, both at 1.125% interest, in addition to a $4.68 million grant.
Sewage customers in the city currently pay $12 monthly for a line-usage fee. If the planned $11.50 increase is approved, that rate will jump to $23.50.
The city, like many municipalities across the state, is under a consent decree from the Department of Environmental Protection to upgrade its storm and sanitary sewer system.
Vitale said the system is failing, and while it’s failing in places he could essentially predict for various reasons, it’s also crumbling in surprising areas, such as the massive pipe collapse on the ArcelorMittal property earlier this year.
Initially, the DEP wanted the project to separate the storm water and sewer lines throughout the city, which would have been a huge increase in the cost to do the work, Vitale said.
Instead, the work will focus on fixing the pipes and ensuring the water and sewage stays in the pipes and flows where it is supposed to.
The Mon Valley Sewage Authority plans to build an equalization tank ranging from 500,000 gallons to 750,000 gallons near the city’s road salt shed off Parente Boulevard.
Once built, the equalization tank will fill with household sanitary wastewater from the Grand Boulevard area during heavy rains and slowly release the contents when the sewer system is able to handle the volume.
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