Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Patrick McDonnell Friday commended Steelton officials in Dauphin County for recently completed upgrades and improvements at the borough Water Authority’s filtration plant. The changes are helping meet safe drinking water standards.

“This is a prime example of how local and state agencies can work together to identify problems, develop solutions, find funding, and improve the system,” McDonnell said while touring the facility with other state and local officials.

In 2013, a filter plant performance evaluation identified major violations of Safe Drinking Water regulations that resulted in increased public health risk.

The Steelton authority recognized its operations had deteriorated, and entered with DEP into a Consent Order and Agreement (COA) requiring improvements to its public water system. Steelton also paid a civil penalty of $55,200. Steelton implemented the COA plan, and DEP provided oversight and assistance to achieve compliance, improve water quality, and reduce any risk to public health.

The final major step of the plan was construction of a new 260,000-gallon post-filtration chlorine contact tank. This tank allows the authority to add chlorine as a disinfectant after filtering out organics from raw water drawn from the Susquehanna River. This results in lower levels of disinfection byproducts.

Disinfection byproducts are chemical, organic, and inorganic substances that can form during a reaction of a disinfectant with naturally present organic matter in the water.

The tank was permitted for operation in August 2017, and disinfection byproduct concentrations are falling because of the added treatment capabilities.

The tank construction was made possible with a $2.6 million low interest loan from the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority.

The Steelton authority has been issuing quarterly public notices to its customers until the running annual averages of sample results fall below accepted levels.

“Steelton has demonstrated a remarkable turnaround in ability and attitude about plant operations,” said McDonnell. “With the highly visible construction of the tank, Steelton has completed many system improvements and is producing reduced disinfection byproducts to the point that the authority soon hopes to issue the “all clear” to its customers.”

DEP continues to provide oversight and assistance to Steelton operators.

For more information on drinking water regulation, visit DEP’s Bureau of Safe Drinking Water webpage.

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[Posted: March 9, 2018]

3/12/2018