Wastewater director reports freeze damage, SSO cleanup and $500,000 Maple Alley grant

West Chester’s wastewater director told the Public Works Committee on Feb. 10 that the department experienced freeze‑related equipment damage during December and January and has both operational fixes and capital work in progress.

Sean Mitchell reported a cracked or damaged drive on a sludge‑thickener tank that the department is seeking quotes to repair, and he described a sanitary‑sewer overflow at College Avenue caused by frozen floats that failed to trigger pumps and alarms. "We did contact DEP. Everything was cleaned up to the satisfaction of our inspector, and everything is good," Mitchell said.

Mitchell also reviewed capital‑project progress: a switchgear delivery and medium‑voltage transformer installation are complete and weather‑dependent work is scheduled for February–March. He said the borough received a $500,000 grant for phase 2 of the Maple Alley project and that plans for phases 1 and 2 were nearly complete; the department is coordinating with Aqua and Verizon on crossings and conduit issues.

Average flows reported in the meeting were 764,000 gallons per day at the Goose Creek plant and 703,000 gallons per day at Taylor Run. Mitchell noted other cold‑weather impacts — frozen pressure relief valves, polymer line freezes and failed generator batteries — and said teams performed in‑house repairs where possible.

The committee did not take action on these items at the meeting; members asked staff to return with repair cost estimates and schedule details for capital projects.