Coplay-Whitehall Sewer Authority board members discussed at their meeting June 15 a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) received from the Lehigh County Authority (LCA). The LCA has a set of priorities designed to improve wastewater treatment in the Lehigh Valley. All municipalities using the Allentown Wastewater Treatment Plant are asked to review and approve the changes.

The goals stretch to 2050. The length of the time frame is a cause for some concern.

At the meeting, CWSA concentrated on priorities labeled as phase one. The priorities include increasing plant capacity to 120 Million Gallons Per Day (MGPD) and verification of meters used by municipalities to determine flow, which, in turn, allocates costs.

Board member Paul Geissinger questioned the need for plant expansion.

“What we have now meets our needs. Why expand beyond that number?” he asked.

General manager David Harleman presented some of the details. The existing plant has an average capacity of 40 MGPD and a peak capacity of 87 MGPD. It is the peak capacity that would be expanded to 120 MGPD. The ultimate goal is to develop a peak capacity of 160 MGPD by 2050.

According to Harleman, CWSA’s peak capacity can triple during major storm events.

With all the improvements made to reduce clear water infiltration, there was discussion on where the increased flows are coming from. CWSA has a program underway to line manholes to prevent infiltration to some extent. Board member Joseph Marx contends the infiltration is coming from the laterals that serve individual residences.

“We have enough audits that our system is pretty tight,” he said. “The laterals are on private property, so it is difficult to control infiltration.”

According to Harleman, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is pleased with the progress being made by LCA and the signatories of the plan. There is an EPA mandate to reduce clear water infiltration.

The crux of the board’s discussion is CWSA does not oppose any of the projects proposed in phase one of the MOU. A major construction project proposed as part of phase one is to remove congestion at a choke point in the system. The proposal would divert a main feeder line serving the western part of the Lehigh Valley from a junction and create a dedicated line to the wastewater treatment plant.

“The proposed line would allow more capacity on the main feeder line,” Harleman said.

None of CWSA’s sewage travels through the western pipeline, but the construction cost would be shared by all the municipalities.

“The project frees up capacity that we may need in the future,” Harleman said.

The expected cost of reworking the western pipeline is less than the cost of CWSA building a separate, dedicated line for its sewage, an alternative available to CWSA.

Solicitor Jack Stover advised the board to delay signing the MOU.

“By signing, we are committing resources to phase one and phase two. At this point, there are no concrete costs for phase two. It is really giving them a blank check,” he said.

Stover pointed out the improvements in phase one, projects agreed to by CWSA, could be implemented under the present agreement signed in 1981. Chairman John Schreiner pointed out that some of the signatories balk at a requirement to verify meters.

“They contend that their meters are checked annually by the manufacturer, and they should not be required to pay for independent testing by a third party. CWSA advocates third-party testing because they feel some meter readings are inaccurate,” Schreiner said.

Stover will head negotiations with the LCA over the MOU and report back to the board.

In a related matter, the board noted a charge on the latest LCA billing statement for $32,000, classified as administrative order fees. By agreement, CWSA must pay the bill when due, but it can file a protest. Schreiner wants an explanation of the charges and will file the protest.