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Tarentum council outlines plan to replace century-old water mains, to pilot HDPE pipe
Summary
Council and staff described a multi-year strategy to repair the borough's aging water distribution system, noting 13 miles of original pipe past a 100-year lifespan, $3–4 million in recent grants for plant upgrades, and plans to pilot HDPE pipe for distribution-line replacement.
Tarentum Borough staff told council on Jan. 14 that the borough’s water distribution system requires multi-year work to replace aging mains and that the borough plans to pilot modern pipe materials as part of a phased replacement strategy.
Manager Dwight Bader said roughly "13 miles of line...are original" and "we are over the 100 year lifespan for those 13 miles." He told council the borough has secured about "3 to $4,000,000 worth of grants for the water plant itself" and that those funds address pumps, tanks and chemical feeds, which represent a first construction phase.
Bader described the next phase as replacing distribution lines, which he said is more complicated than plant work. He summarized three material options discussed with engineers and the state: ductile iron (long-lived, about 100 years and more expensive), PVC (less expensive, about 50-year life and more brittle in cold weather) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE), which he described as "a newer option...Last about a 100 years" and noted its flexibility allows less-disruptive replacements in short segments.
"So once we get a little more in-depth with some cost estimates and then with the engineers...we're gonna...come back to council at some point in a couple of months about actually testing out the HDPE pipe this year so that we can make a plan and start replacing so many linear feet year after year," Bader said.
Public works staff added operational context: December output figures and winter break frequency. A utilities presentation reported the water plant produced "27,900,000 gallon of water in December," and that recent cold weather caused multiple breaks across the region, not only in Tarentum.
Council discussed funding and sequencing: staff said they will prioritize mains in critical areas, begin required permitting with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, and return with pilot-cost estimates and a replacement schedule. No formal funding appropriation was adopted at the meeting.
Ending: Council asked staff to pursue permitting, engineer cost estimates, and a pilot test of HDPE pipe, then report possible timelines and funding options at a future meeting.
