Though work is progressing, supply chain issues have pushed back the completion date for the much-needed upgrade to the Pine Creek Sewage Treatment Plant.

Designing the plant began in 2016, and construction was initially projected to be finished in the Fall of 2022, but pandemic-related delays are pushing the completion date back to Fall 2023 or early 2024, according to William Youngblood, director of the McCandless Township Sanitary Authority. Youngblood said officials are in a six-month wait period for some parts and materials.

“It’s been challenging,” he said.

The plant, which operates under the McCandless Township Sanitary Authority, was constructed in the 1970s and serves residents in Bradford Woods, Franklin Park, Pine Township, Marshall Township, McCandless, and some residents of Hampton, according to Youngblood.

The Pine Creek facility, located on Wildwood Road in Gibsonia, is the third largest in Allegheny County, after Alcosan and the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority, serving 12,878 customers in the North Hills area and still growing, according to Youngblood.

Expansion of the plant will help with its growing customer base.

The project also has not been immune to rising prices. The upgrade was first projected at $14 million, but now officials are projecting a price tag of approximately $21 million, Youngblood said.

A potential grant may help with that issue, he said.

Sen. Lindsey Williams, D-West View, assisted officials in applying for a $500,000 grant from the state’s Covid-19 ARPA Pandemic Response Grant Program. Youngblood said he thinks there’s a good chance it will be approved.

The project also received a $500,000 grant with the help of former state Rep. Mike Turzai.

The sanitary authority board approved a 6% increase to customers, effective this past Jan. 1. Since the MTSA bills quarterly, customers didn’t see the rate change until their first bill in the spring. Should another increase be approved, it would likely take effect Jan. 1, 2023, and be reflected in the first quarterly billing cycle of 2023.

One feature of the new plant is a $2 million ultraviolet light system to kill off germs and bacteria, Youngblood said. This would replace the current chlorine-treatment process, which would keep chlorine out of local waterways.

The expansion includes adding six, new 450,000-gallon processing tanks, increasing treatment capacity by 1 million gallons per day.

The MTSA began in 1954 serving residents of McCandless, hence its name. But it has since grown to include surrounding areas, Youngblood said.

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