Potter County will receive $1 million in funds for a water/sewer improvement project in Galeton Borough, Gov. Tom Wolf announced Wednesday.
The Community Development Block Grant funding will be used at the Galeton Borough Authority Wastewater Treatment Plant. The plant was built in 1986 and provides wastewater and stormwater services to 528 families.
The 35-year-old plant “needs significant rehabilitation,” a press release from Wolf’s office stated. The aging equipment is impacting the water quality of Pine Creek.
“The treatment plant has an old sludge holding tank which lacks the ability to properly store waste solids, resulting in these solids building up in the wastewater treatment units and washing out in Pine Creek during high flow-wet weather events,” the press release explained. “This has negatively impacted the water quality of Pine Creek and could subject concentrations of harmful bacteria in the stream.”
The source of Pine Creek, a tributary of the West Branch Susquehanna River, is in Potter County southeast of Ulysses. Pine then flows through Galeton to Tioga County, through the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon, into Lycoming County and along the border of Lycoming and Clinton counties, where it meets the West Branch Susquehanna River.
The state awarded more than $5.4 million for water and/or sewer systems in five counties on Wednesday. The other projects are located in Butler, Fayette, Indiana and Jefferson counties.
The press release described the purpose of the Community Development Block Grant program.
“CDBG funds enable communities to effectively address local community development needs by providing federal funds to develop viable communities through the provision of modest housing and a suitable living environment,” it stated. “Funds are also used to expand economic opportunities geared to low-and moderate-income individuals and to improve infrastructure critical to community health and welfare.”
