The chairman of the Greater Pottsville Area Sewer Authority board wants customers to know that a “dramatic” rate hike is “inevitable” in the relatively near future.
Authority board members are getting close to launch a project that is designed to alleviate persistent flooding in downtown Pottsville by, in the most layman of terms, separating wastewater and stormwater streams and not creating a single flow under W. Market St.
The way stormwater and sewage is collected now puts a strain on the city’s underground infrastructure and in any heavy rains, causes severe flooding downtown.
The project, as laid out by the Authority’s engineer – John Poff, of Light-Heigel & Associates Inc. – on Wednesday evening would roughly cost about $50 million.
In order to pay for such a project, the Authority is going to have to take out a loan and hopefully receive grant funding to help offset incurring that much debt.
Authority Chairman Barry DeWitt said, when realizing the cost of the project, that he wants to prepare GPASA customers for the “inevitable.”
“Obviously this will have to be passed along to our users,” DeWitt said. “I know it’s still early, but I think we owe it to our constituents to prepare them for this rate increase that’s going to be inevitable, rather than just dropping it on them at one meeting.”
Now, it’s not as if the likely hike in rates is going to happen tomorrow. The project that Poff laid out Wednesday is still in its infancy. And it can’t go forward until the Sewer Authority completes its Act 537 plan for the state.
Poff did say that that document is nearly complete, however.
Sewer Authority Solicitor Ed Brennan said that having a completed and approved Act 537 plan can serve as its “launching pad” for seeking additional funds for the proposed project, including securing grants.
He suggested to board members that they should consider seeking the services of a grant writer to find the funding that is suitable for such a project.
Poff told board members about the Pennsylvania H2O grant program but said it’s highly competitive.
Brennan said the board should also start talking with the local connections in state government, Sen. Dave Argall and Rep. Tim Twardzik, for help funding the project.
Board member Ron Zimmerman said he manages grants for Schuylkill County government and would be willing to lend a hand with the Sewer Authority’s efforts to find funding for the project, too.
However, it’s likely that a significant portion of the project will have to be funded through a loan, likely through the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority (PENNVEST).
Loans through PENNVEST are often over a 20- or 30-year term at 1% interest.
Despite those favorable terms, DeWitt clearly sees that paying off that loan is going to have to be done on the backs of the Sewer Authority’s customer base, which includes residents and businesses in Pottsville, Port Carbon, Palo Alto, Mount Carbon, and Mechanicsville, as well as portions of Norwegian, East Norwegian, and North Manheim townships.
“This is obviously a long-term plan and a long-term project but debt service on $30 or $40 or $50 million dollars, even at 1%, is going to have a fairly dramatic impact on the rates,” DeWitt said.
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Jalappa Tech
August 2, 2025 at 8:12 pm
20 years ago there was a $50 increase on every statement on the terms of updating sewer lines where needed. I called them for a blockage they came out and said it was on my end. I rented a power snake and fed it out softly until it stopped and put tape on that spot. I fed out enough to go clear across the street onto neighbors property. Real joke trying to get them to take care of anything. We don’t get what we pay for the way it is.