Coplay-Whitehall Sewer Authority (CWSA) Chairman John Schreiner released the authority’s proposed 2016 budget at its regular meeting Nov. 19.

“We have been managing our resources carefully, and we are pleased to present a budget that does not include any rate increases,” he said.

The budget shows an income of nearly $3.4 million. Most of the income, $3 million, comes from ratepayers. The remaining balance is from miscellaneous income generated by services provided to other municipalities by the CWSA.

On the expense side of the ledger, $2.4 million is assigned to operational expenses. Salaries and wages for operations personnel eat up a little more than $300,000 of the expense. Administrative expenses are $922,000. Employee benefits are a large expense at $317,000. Other expenses include the office staff and costs to run all the support systems.

Ongoing system maintenance and repairs require another $315,000. The two categories that add significantly to total expenses are costs paid to the City of Allentown for wastewater treatment ($1 million) and long-term debt service ($550,000).

The authority’s debt was used to improve the system’s performance, bringing the authority into compliance with an EPA mandate. The mandate required that all municipalities using the Allentown Wastewater Treatment Plant reduce infiltration from clear water sources. Clear water infiltration is water that does not require treatment; it is mostly rainwater. The authority has been a leader in reducing the amount of clear water infiltrating the system.

A source of clear water entering the system is from residential customers that have downspouts connected to the sewer system. The authority is required to inspect each residential unit to determine if there is clear water dumped into the sewer system. Older homes were built with downspouts connected to the sewer system. The latest thinking is that only water requiring treatment should be in the sewer lines. Reducing the amount of sewage requiring treatment extends the capacity of the treatment plant and keeps rates competitive.

The authority also released its capital budget for 2016. The plan shows scheduled improvements to be around $2.4 million. The biggest project on the 2016 schedule is rebuilding the Lehigh River meter station. The nearly $1 million project began this year and is expected to be completed in 2016. The revamped meter station will allow the authority to react faster to high water levels. Presently, the station pegs out during heavy rain periods and does not give operators an accurate reading of water flows in the system.

The budget will be reviewed by the board and is expected to be approved at the December meeting.