Pennsylvania American Water commits $30 million for wastewater infrastructure upgrades
Pennsylvania American Water today announced a combined investment of approximately $30 million to upgrade two wastewater treatment facilities in Kane Borough: the Kinzua Road and Pine Street plants. These projects aim to improve water quality, environmental compliance and operational efficiency while modernizing aging infrastructure.
“By addressing risks to aquatic life through investment in modern systems, we’re helping to create a cleaner watershed that supports fish, plants and wildlife,” said Pennsylvania American Water Director of Engineering Jed Fiscus.
Work is already underway at the Kinzua Road Wastewater Treatment Plant. The first phase of construction focuses on replacing outdated equipment with a new system designed to manage solids and debris before treatment.
In addition to equipment upgrades, the Kinzua Road improvements will increase peak wet weather flow capacity from 3.5 million gallons per day (MGD) to 5.25 MGD and reduce the quantity of combined sewer overflow bypass events. Electrical and technology systems will also be modernized to enhance reliability and performance.
Supporting these enhancements is a low-interest loan amounting to $15.2 million from PENNVEST. “The added benefit of PENNVEST financing is that we can reduce our borrowing costs, enabling us to upgrade more facilities,” said Fiscus. “The savings from these low-interest loans help Pennsylvania American Water fund more upgrades across our service area.”
Looking ahead, comparable upgrades are scheduled for the Pine Street Wastewater Treatment Plant, an almost identical facility. Construction is projected to commence in summer 2026, with upgrades planned similar to the Kinzua Road project.
These investments are part of a larger effort to bring the Kane wastewater system into regulatory compliance. When Pennsylvania American Water acquired the system in September 2020, it entered into a consent order and agreement with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to address previous and ongoing violations of the system’s discharge permit. “We’re holding our commitment to correct past environmental violations,” said Fiscus.
To meet these requirements, the company developed a DEP-approved corrective action plan aimed at fixing past issues and improving plant operations. Pennsylvania American Water expects to complete both the Kinzua Road and Pine Street projects by 2028.
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