EMMAUS, Pa. — A comprehensive and ambitious $600 million plan for Lehigh County's sewer system, the first of its kind, has started to come before the many residents and municipal planners it will affect.
Lehigh County Authority, which manages water and wastewater services for many county municipalities, says it will cost $561 million-$595 million over the next decade to replace the nearly 1,000 miles of underground pipes affected.
That would upgrade the county's aging water and wastewater treatment infrastructure, increase capacity and solve other issues in many municipalities including Allentown and Lower Macungie Township.
It also would add capacity for new connections, increase size to lessen overflows from weather events, and respond to regulatory oversight from system overflows and permit violations.
The organization says the Act 537 plan is "the largest investment our region has ever made to protect public health and the environment."
"Some parts of our sewer system are 100 years old," states a website for the proposed projects and measures in the required Act 537 plan.
"As the system’s pipes deteriorate with age, the pipes are also handling their maximum capacity, making the problem worse. During storms, rainwater can flow into the system, resulting in raw sewage overflowing from manholes, backing up into basements, and entering local waterways."
Briefings about plans under way
Large regional projects, such as upgrades to wastewater treatment plants and sewer lines, are proposed alongside the need for municipal upgrades and repairs.
More than a dozen municipalities, including South Whitehall and Salisbury Townships, affected by the plan have been or will be visited for a similar briefing at municipal meetings.
The final meetings are scheduled for 7 p.m. Nov. 29 at Alburtis Borough Council and 7 p.m. Dec. 7 at Upper Macungie Township Board of Supervisors.
"The community sewer systems are between 50 and 100 years old, and that's pretty darn old," Gross said.Lehigh County Authority Chief Executive Officer Liesel Gross
In her presentation, Lehigh County Authority Chief Executive Officer Liesel Gross noted many challenges faced by the current system.
They include the 160 million gallons of water per day entering during wet weather. The treatment plant can only process half of that, leading to overflows.
On a dry-weather day, 10 million gallons of groundwater infiltrates the system through cracks, taking up capacity and increasing costs.
"The community sewer systems are between 50 and 100 years old, and that's pretty darn old," Gross said. "That is causing some problems with the system, allowing rainwater to leak into those sewer pipes."
When the plant exceeds capacity, untreated wastewater flows into the Lehigh River, he said.
According to Gross, the Kline's Island Wastewater Treatment Plant provides sewer treatment services for more than 200,000 people in Lehigh County, treating about 32 million gallons of wastewater each day.
Treated water at the facility is discharged into the Lehigh River before its confluence with Little Lehigh Creek.
Projects listed to municipal leaders
Projects for Kline's Island and other areas were highlighted while meeting with the Emmaus Borough Council on Nov. 20.
One of the projects includes a new, expanded-in-diameter interceptor sewer line to replace the current, overloaded system with a larger interceptor to prevent overflows.
The interceptor currently provides service to Alburtis, Macungie, and Lower Macungie, Upper Macungie and Lowhill townships. The relief facilities and pump station for the interceptor were installed in the late 1990s and costs are estimated to be $78 million-$98 million.
A similar project at the cost of $23 million-$30 million also would expand the overloaded Little Lehigh interceptor used by Emmaus, Salisbury Township and South Whitehall Township.
Other interceptor replacements and municipal sewer rehab projects are being reviewed. The presentation stated that each municipality has provided its own expected work plan to address aging infrastructure and ongoing sewer rehab.
Upgrades to the Kline's Island Wastewater Treatment Plant, including expanded pumping capacity and other repairs and upgrades of aging equipment, are estimated to cost $51 million.
The largest item discussed was an estimated at $267 million upgrade to the aging industrial pretreatment plant that treats industrial "high-strength" waste.
Municipal rehab and interceptor upgrade programs are estimated to cost $144 million-$148 million.
Gross noted work done since 2019 included planning for sewer system rehab by each municipality, the accounting for of municipal growth projections, system leakage, and preliminary cost estimates and regional flow monitoring.
How to finance the projects
Plans for financing, rate projections and implementation are being developed, but were not discussed. Gross said the authority will be as "aggressive as we can be" to seek grant funding.
For municipal representatives, the projected costs were a sticking point at this early stage before costs were broken up between municipalities.
"I feel that's the only way that we can survive, is if we get funding from the federal and state," Emmaus Council President Brent Labenberg said.
"I don't think most municipalities can afford it."
Gross said the regional projects' funding will be done by Lehigh County Authority, while municipal projects would be funded by that municipality, which can seek small system grants and similar funding opportunities.
Lower Macungie Township Commissioner Brian Higgins noted his municipality's consistent maintenance of its sewer system, and voiced concern over how its investment would be offset by communities "that have made no investment and have continued to contribute to the issues within the system when we've done our part."
Gross said no specifics have been determined, but said cost-sharing mechanisms are being worked through and a formula for contributions to regional projects will likely account for flows of capital made into the system by local governments.
'You don't really think about it a lot'
Gross said plans for needed upgrades have been worked on a long time — since 2007 — because of federal and state regulations and the difficulty of coordinating and collaborating with more than a dozen municipalities.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued administrative orders starting in 2007 over excessive overflows and plant bypasses during wet weather.
Oversight was transferred to the state Department of Environmental Protection in 2019 in response to regional collaboration, in the same year system overloads led to the state limiting new connections until an Act 537 plan was developed.
For more than a decade, state or federal environmental officials have had regulatory oversight over the authority due to capacity challenges.
Then, in 2019, Kline’s Island exceeded its permitted flow limit of 40 million gallons per day and the authority was placed under a corrective action plan.
DEP has given the authority a March 2025 deadline to submit an Act 537 plan for its service area. It is to both provide for projected needs of the growing county and resolve any existing sewage disposal problems.
Once plans are settled among county municipalities, it must be finalized and sent to DEP for approval.
Current timelines estimate the plan will be refined over the next year, approved by the 15 affected municipalities and the DEP in 2025, and implemented from 2026 to 2035.
“It’s not as visible as a road or bridge,” Gross said in advance of the series of public presentations. “Water and sewer — you don't really think about it a lot. You don't see it. Everything's buried underground.
“We need to talk about it and raise the awareness that it's a really critical service in every community and requires that investment.”
Emmaus Borough Manager Shane Pepe noted that some municipal projects already are being considered, such as a parallel interceptor sewer.
Rate increases come with capital plans
Rates for the Lehigh County Authority are estimated to increase for customers in the next year.
A “typical customer” in Allentown should expect to pay about $100 more next year, according to the agency's projections, based on presentations made to Allentown in October.
Lessor increases are anticipated for suburban customers.
Its wastewater capital expenses in Allentown are set to jump from about $8.3 million to $14.8 million, according to the budget proposal.
The 2024 budget and four-year capital plans for the authority are available to view on the organization's website.
A public comment deadline for the proposed 2024 water and sewer rates has been set for the end of the year.
