Sewer Update:
There has been a lot of activity in the Franconia Sewer Authority (FSA). The new Souderton Area High School requires the installation of sewer lines, a pump station, and a wastewater treatment plant. The new treatment plant will be built in the vicinity of Forman and Schoolhouse Roads, with discharge into the Skippack Creek. All of the agreements have been signed by FSA and the Souderton Area School District.
FSA is working with Salford Township to share in a project to provide public sewer to Earlington and Tylersport residents, along with a proposed development in Salford Township. Because of simpler construction and shared use of facilities, this project would lower construction costs for both Franconia and Salford residents. This project is still in its preliminary stages, but both Franconia and Salford Township officials have recognized its merits and are moving it forward.
Elsewhere in the community, the FSA will be extending sewer into the Musselman Woods area. The FSA is also working with a developer to install public sewer in the Reliance and Cowpath Road areas. Additionally, public sewer is being pursued in the Mininger Road and Leslie Lane area, and preliminary work is being performed to determine the best course of action to assist property owners in the Morwood area.
A note for existing FSA customers: you may have noticed a different style of invoice for your second quarter billing. FSA had been researching ways to provide a better invoice (one that does not get carbon smudging) that maintained the features of the existing invoice (sent in an envelope, with a return envelope provided). The new invoice is cleaner, easier to set up, and cheaper to develop! Please let us know if you see any problems with the new invoice.
Brief History:
The Department of Environmental Protection approved Franconia Township’s Act 537 Plan on December 14, 2004. A major component of this plan is the Sewer Management Program (SMP) that will require inspections of all on-lot disposal systems. On March 21, 2005 Franconia’s Board of Supervisors approved Ordinance No. 328, which authorizes the Sewer Management Program and outlines the process. On May 15, 2006 the ordinance was amended. The changes to the ordinance were two text changes that better clarify the inspection procedure and the cycles were revised. There are now three cycles instead of the original four. Cycle areas three and four were combined and became cycle two and the original cycle two became cycle three. The ordinance governs the municipal management of on-lot subsurface sewage disposal facilities, which regulates inspection, maintenance, and rehabilitation of these facilities within the township’s limits. A copy of the ordinance is available at the township.
The SMP wil be entering into Phase 2 this summer, 2006. The Board of Supervisors have authorized Schoor Depalma to conduct an inspection of the properties within the township that have on-lot disposal systems (OLDS) to ensure that they are functioning and properly maintained. If you are in phase 2 you will be receiving documentation to this effect.
|
