Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Infrastructure Sewer topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Public Works summarizes Chapter 94 sewer report; commission urged to provide development projections
Summary
Deb Hogue of Public Works briefed the Planning Commission on the annual Chapter 94 report — a PA DEP requirement that looks back five years and projects five years ahead — emphasizing the need for accurate development projections from municipalities and applicants to manage plant and collection capacity and avoid overflows.
Deb Hogue of the City of Reading Public Works department presented an overview April 22 of the Chapter 94 annual report, a Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PA DEP) submission that reviews sewer flows and projects capacity needs looking five years back and five years forward.
Hogue told commissioners the report aggregates flow data across the city’s regional system and requires input from contributing municipalities because Reading operates the collection system and treatment plant while other municipalities own and operate upstream collection networks. Accurate projections of incoming development and expected flows, she said, help the city plan for hydraulic or organic overloads and schedule improvements before problems arise.
“Projecting the flows is a really key thing for us,” Hogue said, noting staff uses planning commission submittals and developer inquiries to estimate near‑term flows. She described the Chapter 94 process as valuable for timing larger capital projects and singled out the need to monitor projects that may fast‑track construction; actual new flows often appear one to several years after plan approval.
Hogue and staff reviewed system improvements and operational experience: since redesign and replacement of the Sixth and Cal pump station, Reading has not recorded an overflow event at that facility; the Nineteenth Ward pump station has an unattended overflow that is planned to be replaced under a recently awarded construction contract. She noted the city has seen modest changes in average flows over a 20‑year window and emphasized the importance of municipal agreements that meter and account for flow contributions from partner municipalities.
Commissioners asked about specific areas such as Riverdale, which staff identified as having limited or no sanitary sewer service and undeveloped lots that could require future connections if policy or conditions change. Skrinkowski and staff said any future interconnection would likely require a pump station and intermunicipal agreements.
Hogue thanked the commission and planning staff for supplying project information for the Chapter 94 evaluation and urged continued coordination so flows projected in reports match actual development timelines.
