Expansion is painful without planning

Sun, May 18 2008

— Valley Township's sewer treatment plant only serves about 20 percent of the properties in the municipality but the system is overwhelmed.
As a result, the state Department of Environmental Protection has barred any new sewer customers in the Montour County municipality until the system's capacity is expanded.
The problems are aggravated by leaky pipes. Officials say significant amounts of water are seeping into the sewer system -- meaning the treatment plant is cleaning more sewage than customers are producing.
Just a study to determine the severity of the infiltration problem will cost $70,000 -- not including the price of repairs.
Officials in Valley Township may seek to hook up to the Danville treatment system. Connecting to the neighboring system could cost $2.2 million.
The Danville sewer authority has its own problems as well. Due to tighter regulation of pollution flowing toward the Chesapeake Bay, Danville's plant is required do an estimated $18 million in upgrades.
Valley Township officials may look to expand the municipality's treatment plant if the proposal to tie into Danville system proves unwieldy. That option will obviously bring its own daunting costs.
Valley Township's sewer woes come at an inconvenient time. Township officials rezoned a property near Route 54 and Interstate 80 so a business park can be built on the site. The plans will need to be shelved until the moratorium is lifted.
Operating a sewer system that serves only a small portion of the residences and businesses in a municipality is short-sighted.
Other municipal officials should consider Valley Township's struggles if they are tempted to procrastinate rather than invest in infrastructure such as roads, sewers and stormwater systems.
Expansion is healthy but without foresight it can be painful. Valley Township's problems prove that lack of planning can even cause growth to grind to a halt.