Pocono News Section

Sewer Upgrades Set to Begin in Bloomsburg

Sewer Upgrades Set to Begin in Bloomsburg - Monday, March 16, 2009 at 5:21PM EST

Reported by: Jeremy Deebel
Monday, Mar 16, 2009 @ 05:21pm EST
Bloomsburg, Columbia County-

The local Chesapeake Bay cleanup effort got a boost Monday in Columbia County.

But rates are still set to rise for Bloomsburg sewer customers.

Congressman Paul Kanjorski announced a $15 million loan package for upgrades at the Bloomsburg Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Pauline Krum, of Bloomsburg, said, “We’re just used to everything going up anymore. Everything we get there’s an increase to anymore.”

Work is already underway to upgrade the plant. It’s been around for more than half a century.

Krum noted, “There’s probably a lot of things that would soon need to be replaced if they haven’t been already.”

Total cost of the project is expected to be about $26 million.

Congressman Kanjorski said, “The commitment of $26 million of assembled money from all sources is going to be put together by a very small number of people to accomplish a very great thing.”

The mandated upgrades will serve two main purposes- reducing pollution at the Chesapeake Bay watershed, and increasing flood protection here along the Susquehanna River.

Krum added, “After spending that amount of money, I would hope that it would be to our advantage as well as what the government wants.”

The improvements mean prices will go up for Bloomsburg sewer customers, who pay based on water usage.

The amounts of those increases have not yet been announced. But the idea of paying more has many people here concerned.

Krum explained, “A lot of people have been affected by jobs around our area that are not working.”

Wastewater authority officials are also seeking $8 million in federal grants to help cover the added costs. They’ll know by this summer if they’re getting the extra money.

Congressman Kanjorski also announced nearly $600,000 in grant funding for the Berwick area. That money will go toward housing rehabilitation in the Lasalle Street neighborhood.