GIRARDVILLE — A large length of water mains in Girardville will be replaced during the summer that will cause some service interruptions as the line is being replaced.
The Girardville Borough Council announced during the April meeting that Aqua Pennsylvania’s Roaring Creek Division will replace about a mile and one-third of old pipe as part of $16.4 million capital program that includes construction projects in Schuylkill, Northumberland, Columbia and Snyder counties.
Among the projects is one in Girardville that includes the replacement of 7,100 feet of 6- and 4-inch cast-iron pipe with 8- and 6-inch ductile iron pipe on Oak Street between Julia Street, which is the board street between the borough and Butler Township to the west, and Third Street to the east; on Richard, John, William, First and Second streets between Oak Street and Preston Avenue, and on East Main Street between Second and Third streets.
Borough Fire Chief Frank Zangari said it is a large project that replaces very old water mains in the borough.
“It’s going to start down on Oak Street,” Zangari said after the meeting. “There will be a job conference in June that I will attend with borough officials.”
Zangari said, “It’s going to come up Oak Street. It will be a new 8-inch line. Some of the offsprings of that line will go south up to Main Street, and will loop around up to Preston Avenue. They (Aqua) call it ‛Girardville Stage 1.’ ”
The water service interruptions to customers will occur when Aqua connects the lateral lines from homes to the new water main.
“My understanding is that they’re also going to put in valves to shut those blocks off so it won’t shut all water along the whole line,” Zangari said.
Zangari said the project will also deal with multiple homes being served by only one lateral.
“There are places where one line provides water for three properties,” Zangari said. “Now each property will have its own line.”
In addition to the main replacements, Aqua will be making improvements to its watershed and dams within the Weiser State Forest, according to the company media release, which adds that this year’s program adds to the company’s 2015 capital program, which included $14.6 million of similar improvements.
Aqua’s Roaring Creek Division provides water service to about 60,000 people in a area that spans parts of the above-mentioned counties and also portions of Adams, Cumberland and Juniata counties.