Sunshine Hill water facility making good progress – pennlive.com

In recent weeks, the shed was completed that will house the new water treatment equipment for the Sunshine Hill neighborhood in Penn Twp., and its engineer says things are moving along steadily.

Theyre making good progress, Randy Bailey, the engineer for the township and the municipal authority, said of workers building the facility.

The Penn Twp. Municipal Authority has an agreement with Fishing Creek Valley Associates and Yingst Homes to build the water treatment facility as part of their plans for the pending Stone Mill Estates development on Route 849. The state Department of Environmental Protection has required PTMA to build a new water treatment facility for years, but the project didnt move forward until this year.

Bailey, an engineer with William F. Hill & Associates, said construction crews still had to frame out the interior walls, add insulation and drywall, but the building was expected to be complete sometime this week.

From there, theyll be doing the outside piping work, he said.

The water treatment equipment, including manganese filtration, has been ordered, but its expected to take several months for the companies to manufacture that and deliver it for installation, he said.

The water in Sunshine Hill is safe to drink, but it has high concentrations of manganese and other naturally occurring compounds and minerals. DEP is requiring PTMA to filter out the manganese from the well water. The project is costing about $1 million with the authority having to pick up about a third of that cost. In time, a new well in the Stone Mill development will be added to the system, too.

Compounding the problem is the nearly 70-year-old tanks and pipes in some parts of the neighborhood on the hills above Duncannon, including Eisenhower and its adjacent streets. PTMA is working on grants and other funding options to replace the mains.

The filtration system and eventually new mains is expected to dramatically improve water quality for the neighborhood. Its residents have complained for a decade about the discoloration, clogged pipes and filters, and having to buy other water.

It starts with finishing the filtration facility, which is expected this autumn.

Theyre making steady progress, and it looks like theyre on target to make the end of September or mid-October, Bailey said.

Jim T. Ryan can be reached via email at jtryan@perrycountytimes.com

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Sunshine Hill water facility making good progress - pennlive.com