Morrisville Municipal Authority outlines plan to move wastewater plant, build pump station

The Morrisville Municipal Authority presented a plan to relocate the borough’s aging wastewater treatment plant to the former US Steel Fairless Works site and to construct a new pump station within Morrisville to convey wastewater to the new facility. John Miranda, director of the Morrisville Municipal Authority, said the existing plant is over 70 years old and the authority has concluded relocation is the most feasible long-term solution.

Engineer Josh Fox of HRG Engineers described technical details for the pump station: two parcels totaling roughly 3.1 acres (a 0.75-acre parcel and a 2.35-acre parcel), zoning currently residential, planned architecture to minimize visual impact, a stormwater rain garden, a PECO transformer pad, emergency diesel generators and an odor-control carbon adsorption unit. Fox said the pump station is designed to convey an average flow of about 2.5–3 million gallons per day and handle up to 20 million gallons per day through a 36-inch force main to the new treatment site.

Miranda said the overall relocation covers approximately five miles of conveyance and will require a coordinated permitting program; Fox said there are more than nine environmental permits and clearances required, including Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) approvals for the new outfall to the Delaware River. The authority plans to pursue Penvest financing to reduce rate impacts; Fox said Penvest approval is a key financing milestone before bidding and that plans and specifications are tentatively targeted for September 2026.

Council members asked about timeline, impacts and sequencing. Fox said the project team prefers to construct the pump station, force main and treatment plant together because each element depends on the others; he estimated construction would take two to three years after permitting and financing are in place. Miranda and Fox emphasized that zoning amendments and land-development approvals will proceed through the borough and Falls Township planning commissions before council action.

The authority said the relocation is driven by regulatory obligations and the technical limitations of the existing facility; Miranda noted the authority previously executed a consent agreement with DEP and produced a corrective-action plan and feasibility study in 2015. No formal vote or council action on zoning or funding occurred at the meeting; the presentation was an informational update.

Next steps: the authority will present formal zoning amendment and land-development applications to the planning commissions and return to council when approvals are requested.