EAST EARL TOWNSHIP ACT 537 PLANS
VILLAGE OF GOODVILLE/JOINT MUNICIPAL PLAN
ELA Group Engineers worked with East Earl Township to develop a cost effective option for residents to comply with sewage treatment needs.
The Village of Goodville, located in East Earl Township, is a small village with compact residential lots and a high percentage of failing On-Lot Disposal Systems (OLDS). East Earl Township supervisors worked for decades to find a cost effective solution to meet the domestic sewage treatment needs of their residents. At the request of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PA DEP), East Earl Township’s Authority engineer performed an Update Revision for the Village of Goodville. Unfortunately, the Township continued to struggle to find a cost effective solution to meet their resident’s sewage needs.
To aid in the solution, ELA Group was contracted to update East Earl Township’s Act 537 Update Revision for the Village of Goodville. ELA Group performed additional well sampling, reviewed additional wastewater treatment options and costs analysis to determine the most feasible and cost effective option for the residents. During this study process, ELA worked with the PA DEP to help the Township meet their Consent Order & Agreement (CO&A) milestones and complete the Act 537 Update Revision. ELA Group evaluated spray irrigation systems, rehabilitating existing OLDS, connection to nearby municipal systems and an individual wastewater treatment plant.
Following submission of the adopted Act 537 Update Revision for the Village of Goodville, a nearby Borough, Terre Hill, expressed interest in working with the Township to form a joint sewer authority to operate a regional wastewater treatment plant. ELA Group was able to work with the PA DEP and modify the existing CO&A to allow the municipalities to explore the formation of a joint sewer authority through the Act 537 process.
GLEN MEADOWS RETIREMENT COMMUNITY
SURFACE WATER TREATMENT UPGRADES
ELA Group worked with Presbyterian Senior Living, at their Glen Meadows Retirement Community (GMRC) location to develop onsite long term water infrastructure solutions.
GMRC is a 350 resident, continuing care retirement community located less than 10 miles northeast of the City of Baltimore in the rolling hills of Maryland. The facility has evolved from a 19th century sanatorium to the only Masterpiece Living Retirement Community in the State of Maryland following acquisition by Presbyterian Senior Living (PSL). In improving and upgrading the site, PSL was faced with aging water and wastewater infrastructure, including severe water distribution main leaks and deteriorated water storage tanks. Additionally, the onsite community public water supply wells are impacted by significant storm events, which required boil water advisories for weeks at a time. ELA Group, Inc. was contracted by PSL to develop onsite long term water infrastructure solutions.
ELA Group’s Water Resources Engineering Department began by investigating the surface influence that significant storm events exhibited on the ground water wells. The existing well yields were high, and during non-significant storm events the groundwater quality was excellent. ELA Group Engineers determined the best solution for GCRM to meet their domestic water needs was to permit and construct a surface water treatment plant that used the existing groundwater sources, but is capable of meeting U.S. EPA and Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) drinking water quality standards.
In order to meet the U.S. EPA and MDE drinking water standards, ELA Group redesigned the entire wellhead, treatment, storage and distribution systems. To effectively treat water to these standards, the ELA Group Water Resources Engineering Department designed a 100,000 gpd ultrafiltration membrane water treatment plant adjacent to the existing membrane bioreactor wastewater treatment plant operations building. ELA Group also designed a 32,000 gpd reverse osmosis system to provide water softening without adding additional dissolved solids to the existing membrane bioreactor (MBR) wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). The elimination of dissolved solids to the existing MBR WWTP was particularly important to the WWTP operator because of their NPDES permit effluent requirements. The PSL water treatment plant began operation and successfully provides the Glen Meadows Retirement Community clean, reliable drinking water.
Ultimately, ELA Group was able to provide PSL with a water treatment system that could meet the retirement community’s needs, strict drinking water standards and budgets faced by the not-for-profit Presbyterian Senior Living organization. The design, permitting and construction of the GMRC facility also provided the ELA Group’s Water Resources Engineering Department with valuable engineering experience.
HOUSTON RUN COMMUNITY WATER SYSTEM
Designed by ELA Group Planners and Engineers, Houston Run is a 125-acre mixed-use development comprised of commercial, industrial, and residential uses. Because the development is not served by public water facilities, a Community Water System was created to provide a source of water for domestic use and fire protection. The major components of the system include two permitted wells, ion-exchange water softening units, chlorine disinfection, a 24′ (D) X 72′ (H) 250,000-gallon bolted-steel storage tank, two miles of distribution piping, pump station with variable speed drive pumps, and backup generator.
An aggressive construction schedule called for the Community Water System to be operational by the Grand Opening of its “Family Center of Gap”. Consequently, the construction, testing, and activation of the tank, pump station, distribution mains, and electrical systems were accomplished in a relatively short, three-month period of time. The system is currently permitted as a Public Water System by the PA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).