Authority approves 2025 sewer budget, raises quarterly rental fee to $156; engineer outlines 3–5 year timeline for a local sewer plant

At its Dec. 9 meeting, the Lower Pottsgrove Township Authority adopted the 2025 Operation and Capital Sewer Budget and set the sewer rental fee at $156 per quarter.

Edward C. Wagner, the authority manager, said the fee increase was the only change in the 2025 budget presented. "The only change was the sewer rental fee went to $156 per quarter," he said. Joseph Groff moved to approve the budget and Joe McGeehan seconded; the motion passed unanimously.

Engineer Fred Ebert gave the board a planning overview for the possibility of building a Lower Pottsgrove sewer plant. Ebert estimated a three- to five-year timeline from the present stage: about a year for Act 537 planning, a year for design and permitting and a year for construction, plus roughly a year of contingency to address unexpected issues. Ebert said he is collecting operations and maintenance cost figures to compare with projected costs if the authority remains with the Borough of Pottstown for treatment and disposal.

Ebert also reported operational measurements for November: total flows of 30,026,039 gallons (compared with Oct. flows of 25,910,789) and a lateral failure rate that had fallen to about 25% from earlier figures near 33–36%. He said he will monitor the system through upcoming rainfall to evaluate the impact of Hilltop Road work and lateral replacements. Ebert noted a DEP contact requested additional time to release previously discussed EDUs until the end of the year due to staffing changes at the agency.

The board took the budget vote and directed staff to continue developing cost comparisons and operational estimates to inform any future decision on plant construction.