Chambersburg, PA. — On Monday, October 16, a multi-municipal partnership made of seven entities came together in Chambersburg Borough’s Pine Woods Park to celebrate the completion of the largest public works project in regional history.
Staff and officials from four Franklin County municipalities gathered for the dedication ceremony of the J. Hase Mowrey Regional Wastewater Treatment Facility. The $39 million upgrade to the treatment facility is the result of many years of collaboration and cooperation among the Borough of Chambersburg and its municipal partners Guilford Township, Guilford Township Authority, Greene Township, Greene Township Municipal Authority, Hamilton Township, and Hamilton Township Municipal Authority.
“It’s regionally impactful projects like this that become reality when municipal governments work together and Chambersburg is proud to have been a partner in this process.” Allen Coffman, Chambersburg Town Council president, commented.
Improvements to the wastewater treatment facility were prompted by new regulatory requirements set forth in the Commonwealth’s Chesapeake Bay Tributary Strategy. In addition to meeting more stringent nutrient discharge limits, the upgraded facility has expanded its capacity from 6.8 MGD to 11.28 MGD in order to accommodate the region’s growth trends. Treatment processes were also enhanced, resulting in positive impacts for the Potomac River Basin and the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.
Funding for the project was proportionately provided by the partnering municipalities, in addition to a grant from the Commonwealth Financing Authority’s H2O program for water and sewer infrastructure projects. The project’s legal counsel, G. Bryan Salzmann, credits Senator Rich Alloway (R – Franklin County) of the 33rd Senate District for the supplemental funding.
“The approximately $2.3 million in grants we were fortunate to obtain gave this project the financial boost it needed. Senator Alloway has been engaged with the project team from the beginning and was a key advocate in Harrisburg that we needed to secure the H2O grants,” remarked Salzmann.
Lance Anderson, Water and Sewer superintendent for the Borough of Chambersburg, offered announcements related to the treatment plant’s operation moving forward, stating that “Not only did the project come in under original estimates, but the Wastewater Treatment Plant has seen a decrease in operational costs.”
Alloway commented, “I commend Chambersburg Town Council members and the partnering Townships’ officials, and their municipal authority Board members, for their forward thinking and collaborative approach to improving the infrastructure and environment in Franklin County.”
Source: Chambersburg Borough press release
