Harkins: $1.8 million to help fund major sewer system project
New interceptor sewer will prevent overflows
Rep. Patrick J. Harkins August 17, 2020 | 3:54 PM
ERIE, Aug. 17 – A $1.8 million grant from the Commonwealth Financing Agency will help fund a major improvement to the sanitary sewer system serving residents of eastern Erie County, state Rep. Pat Harkins, D-Erie, announced today.
Harkins said the grant to the Harborcreek Township Sewer Authority – awarded under the CFA’s H20 PA program – will help the authority install a new interceptor – a large line that collects the wastewater from multiple branch lines and transports it to the treatment plant.
“I have been working with state Representative Curt Sonney to secure this funding for a long time because this project promises to have a major, long-term impact on the eastern part of Erie County,” Harkins said. “By reducing peak sewage flows at the 5-Mile Pump Station by more than 50%, the new interceptor is going to eliminate wet weather sewer overflows into 5 Mile Creek.
“The result will be a wastewater management system that functions more efficiently, experiences fewer overloads and proves less costly to taxpayers in the long run. It’s an investment that goes a long way toward assuring residents and businesses that the proper infrastructure will be there to support them.”
Harkins said the project will install nearly 10,000 feet of sewer line that begins at Nagle Road and Iroquois Avenue, runs west along Iroquois Avenue and East Lake Road through Lawrence Park Township to the City of Erie at Franklin Avenue and ties into the Erie Eastside Interceptor. The proposed interceptor will pick up all the flow south of the railroad tracks in Harborcreek Township, which encompasses more than 60% of the average daily flow.
In addition to the CFA grant, approximately $2 million in funding has already been committed to the project, which has a total cost of approximately $6.12 million.
More information about the H20 PA program is available here.