Nanty Glo Water Authority just landed a serious lifeline: a $7.2 million state grant to boost capacity at its U.S. Route 22 water treatment plant. The cash will fund an extra filter, repairs to two aging filters, and a slate of other upgrades that officials say should help keep customers from getting hammered with big bill increases.
What PENNVEST approved
The Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority signed off on a $7,251,615 grant to install a new filter and restore two existing filters, add an emergency shutdown valve and another backwash tank, and build a new garage and an NPDES discharge for wastewater, according to a PENNVEST news release. The agency says the package is designed to improve water quality, boost the plant's efficiency, and keep the system in line with safe drinking-water standards. The award is part of a $306.4 million round of PENNVEST funding spread across 23 counties.
Local leaders say it will limit rate hikes
State Sen. Wayne Langerholc Jr., who sits on the PENNVEST board, announced the award and said the grant will prevent what he estimated would have been a 69 percent jump in user fees. In a news release on his website, Sen. Wayne Langerholc Jr. said, "As a member of the PENNVEST Board of Directors, I am proud to deliver this important investment to Cambria County." Nobody likes opening a water bill to a shock, and local officials are clearly eager to highlight that this money is meant to head that off.
Long-running infrastructure needs
This is not the first time the plant has turned to the state for help. A 2016 PENNVEST release said Nanty Glo received a $3.5 million loan after the treatment plant was described as being "at the end of its useful life," underscoring long-running maintenance and compliance problems that the new grant is meant to tackle.
Who will benefit
The authority provides service to roughly 4,076 people, according to EWG's Tap Water Database, and many residents rely on the plant for both daily use and fire protection along the Route 22 corridor. In a follow-up statement, Sen. Langerholc said the funding will provide "meaningful financial relief to local ratepayers" while shoring up reliability.
The announcement did not spell out a construction schedule. The authority says engineering, permitting, and picking contractors come next before any shovels hit the ground. Local reporting has also followed the award; see the Tribune-Democrat for additional coverage.
