Overview

The Tri-County Joint Municipal Authority (TCJMA) water system serves approximately 10,000 individuals through 3,300+ metered service connections located in various municipalities throughout Washington, Fayette, and Greene Counties in Pennsylvania. The TCJMA owns and operates a 2.0-MGD water treatment plant (WTP) that utilizes conventional dual-media filtration to supply drinking water to the entirety of the TCJMA customer base.

The Tri-County Joint Municipal Authority Wastewater Treatment Plant was originally constructed in the early-twentieth century and was expanded in the 1950’s. The plant has exceeded its original design life and is in a state of general disrepair despite several improvement projects completed in recent years. Additionally, the Authority needed to evaluate existing distribution storage facilities to develop a long-term plan for repair / replacement. We worked with TCJMA to develop a water system master plan to create an actionable plan to address capital infrastructure needs to provide water for the communities.

On the distribution side, two water storage tanks were in the state of disrepair were no longer an option to use. Both are recommended for replacement at a combined estimated cost of $3.5M.

On the production side, the plant is almost 70 years old, and the original structure several decades older than that. The general condition of the building and constantly evolving regulatory requirements make it increasingly difficult to justify maintaining the facility, which ultimately resulted in a proposed new water treatment plant

Based on Entech’s preliminary evaluation, it was determined that the most economical placement for the new proposed treatment facility would be in place of the existing administrative office building footprint, which would allow for operation of the existing plant during construction, while also obviating the need for property acquisition as part of the project.

The projects outlined in the distribution and production master plan efforts are necessary to identify for the Authority to continue to provide a reliable supply of safe drinking water to the population it serves. The main concern with these upgrades is lack of capital funds. Entech’s funding specialists have identified and are prepared to assist TCJMA to pursue PennVest and USDA funding. TCMJA will also continue to apply for grant funding through the Local Shares Account (LSA) program which brings in capital from casino revenues that go towards public interest projects.