Schuylkill County. Municipal Authority

Schuylkill County. Municipal Authority Drinking Water Report Info
The Schuylkill County Municipal Authority (SCMA) was formed by the Schuylkill County Commissioners through the endorsement of Incorporation, dated August 22, 1961. At their regularly scheduled gathering held on December 4, 1961, the SCMA Board of Directors approved a movement to purchase the Pottsville Water Company (PWC) at an expense of $7,622,000.00. The Pottsville Water Company (PWC) was chartered on April 11, 1834, through articles of joining with a capital of $20,000.00, divided into 800 portions of a standard value of $25.00 each. The first source of supply for the PWC was a spring located on a square of ground at Eleventh and Mahantongo Streets in the City of Pottsville. An aggregate of 3,500 feet of 6? pipe and 700 feet of 4? pipe were constructed to move water from the spring source to the downtown territory of the City. The PWC acquired and connected three (3) additional springs to supplement the source of supply served as the essential supply of water for the PWC until 1857. On November 30, 1854, the Wolf Creek supply was placed on the web. Development of the system to serve the Boroughs of St. Clair, Port Carbon, Palo Alto, and Mt. Carbon occurred in the next years. In 1856, the Park Basin equalizing dam was constructed. In 1874, the Eisenhuth Dam, in conjunction with pipeline to associate with the system, was added. Throughout the next years, tributaries in the zones of the Mill Creek, Cranberry Run, Tar Run, Kaufman Run, Mud Run and Indian Run were collected and added to the system. Significant extension of the sources of supply occurred with the construction of additional surface water supplies including Kaufman (1885), Wolf Creek (1910), Indian Run (1926) and Tar Run (1933). Extension to the administration zone continued through the acquisition of the East Norwegian Township Water Company, Norwegian Township Water Company and New Castle Township Water Company by 1929. Overseer's residences were constructed at the Eisenhuth Dam in 1899 and Indian Run in 1900. A pumping station was likewise constructed close to the Indian Run residence. Water was first pumped from the Indian Run into the west end of Pottsville in 1900. A meter and chlorination house was constructed on the Broad Mountain system in 1924, speaking to the main treatment system for the Pottsville Water Company. A soda cinder feed system was installed at the Indian Run treatment building in 1940. A 2.5-million gallon stockpiling tank was constructed in 1929 on the Sharp Mountain to provide capacity to the Indian Run System. The Pottsville Water Company purchased an office building, which was initially constructed in 1874, at 221 S. Focus Street, Pottsville, PA in 1923. In 1957, the Pottsville Water Company made remodels to the Indian Run pump house and treatment office to add electrically driven pumps. In 1958, the Darkwater Treatment building was constructed to treat the far reaching Broad Mountain supplies. In 1961, the Schuylkill County Municipal Authority was formed and purchased the previous Pottsville Water Company. In 1976, a 16? principle was installed from the Sharp Mountain water tank to the Forest Hills development in North Manheim Township. In 1978, the Authority acquired the Mud Run Reservoir and renamed it the Mt. Laurel Reservoir. This acquisition proved to be one of the most influential, vital moves because it opened up a totally new assistance territory along the I-81 corridor. Throughout the 1970's, the Authority expanded the source of supplies by constructing groundwater wells including the Wildcat Well #4, Indian Run Well #1 and Indian Run Well #5 to supplement the surface water supplies. In the mid-1980's, SCMA made upgrades to both the Wolf Creek and Eisenhuth Reservoirs by raising the degree of the dams, constructing secondary spillways and providing downstream bank adjustment. With the entry of the 1976 Federal Drinking Water Act, the Authority was regulated to provide filtration systems on the surface water supplies by 1995. In 1991, the Mt. Laurel Water Filtration and Treatment Facility was constructed on the supplies from the Mt. Laurel and Kaufman Reservoirs. A new 12? water line was constructed around seven miles from the Mt. Laurel Plant to the Federal Correctional Institute at Minersville. Additional 12? lines were constructed to serve the newly constructed State Correctional Institutes at both Mahanoy and Frackville. The Broad Mountain Filtration and Treatment Plant went on-line in 1993. In addition, distribution system upgrades including pumping stations, pressure regulating stations and additional capacity tanks (Peach Mountain and Park Basin) were completed in 1994. In 1995, the Indian Run Water Filtration and Treatment Plant was placed on the web. In 1991, the SCMA took on a new challenge to start tasks in the wastewater treatment business by constructing the Gordon Wastewater Treatment Plant to serve the newly constructed Federal Correctional Institute at Minersville and the Gordon Borough, which was working a "wildcat" accumulation system that had previously discharged untreated sewage to the Mahanoy Creek. In 1994, the Authority acquired the previous Tremont Water and Gas Company and started tasks of the current surface water supply, which was one of five (5) systems in the State of Pennsylvania that had not yet complied with the Filtration Rule set out by the Federal Drinking Water Act. In 1996, the newly constructed Tremont Water Filtration and Treatment Plant was placed into the system to treat.