Archive of previous NEWS SPLASH articles

January 12, 2007

Todd Krehlik was recently appointed by Derry Borough Council to serve on the Authority board for a five year term beginning in January 2007. Mr. Krehlik replaces Mr. Thomas McWherter who finished his term as Vice Chairman of the Authority.
Mr. Krehlik comes to us from the Derry Borough Council, where he serves as President.
His new position, assigned by Mr. Bolen, Authority Chairman, will be as Assistant Secretary/Treasurer. Positions are rotated annually, so he will end his term by serving all the offices on the board.
Todd is a resident of Derry Borough and lives in the First Ward.

June 12, 2006 

The Municipal Authority of the Borough of Derry announced today that it has received official approval from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to proceed with the renovation project that has been in the planning and bidding stage for several months.  The PA DEP has reviewed the necessary documentation submitted by the Authority and its contractors relevant to Woman and Minority contractor participation and approved the package.  Plans are now moving forward to have construction start in July.  The several contracts involved in this project include:  new filters for the pump house, a new roof installed on the seventy three year old filter building and new electronic controls and alarms.  In addition a back-up generator will be placed next to the filter building capable of running the pumps and related equipment during power outages or emergencies. A new larger chemical feed building, with new equipment, will replace the original brick building dating from the mid nineteen twenties.  

These extensive renovations are possible because of the efforts of State Representative Joe Petrarca’s office and a federal matching funds grant sponsored by Congressman Murtha. The total budget is $880,000 with federal funds paying for $433,000 while the remaining funds will come from a bank loan through S&T bank and reserve funds.  The Authority consulting engineer, Gibson-Thomas Engineering from Latrobe designed the project.

October 15, 2005

“It has been over 50 years since anyone has seen the bottom of this water dam” said Manager Rich Thomas of the Derry Municipal Authority.  Similar statements by everyone involved with the dredging project echoed over Chestnut ridge where the water collection reservoirs of the Authority are located commonly referred to as the “Water Dams”.  The last time any major work has been done here was in the mid1950’s.  The upper water dam has just been completely drained and dredged in order to conduct a thorough inspection of the drawdown system for the dam as requested, by the PA DEP.  In order to properly and completely inspect the drainpipe with cameras, the reservoir had to be drained and the sediment removed from around the pipes. “We originally estimated there would be 3 to 5 feet of sediment on the bottom but we found to our amazement that there was ten feet of sediment in several places”, said Thomas. 

“Our plans to have the work done in three days turned into six days of actual sediment removal”.  “We also had to manage the water coming in to the dam from McGee Run. It had to be piped into the lower dam.  We did not want to waste water since we are in the dry season” said Thomas.  Santella Excavating form Hillside, PA was contracted to do the work.  The sediment was difficult to remove in some places because it was so soupy.  Authority personnel cleaned the area around the discharge pipes.  In doing so a sediment screen made of copper and steel, from 1890 was found.  Upon examination, it was determined that only the steel frame would need to be replaced.  Murphy Welding of West Derry fabricated a new frame from Stainless Steel and re-inserted the copper screen.  Even the wooden frame the screen sets in is good shape and was reused.

A camera inspection truck was rented form Unity Township Municipal Authority and under the supervision of Gibson-Thomas Engineering Company of Latrobe, the pipes were thoroughly filmed and included in their annual Dam inspection.  In addition to the inspection, new valves to replace the 1890 models were installed on a ten-inch line and the twenty-inch drain line for the upper water dam.  The customers of the Authority will all benefit from this project.  The Authority has been praised for taking the extra effort to look after the needs of its customers by having such a thorough cleaning and inspection of this facility. Replacing the valves was a major capital project in itself. “The Board of Directors was behind this project 100 percent,” said Manager Thomas.  The upper dam can again be rated at its stated capacity of 2.5 million gallons.

October 13, 2005

The board of directors of the Municipal Authority of the Borough of Derry reviewed the annual budget at their regular monthly meeting and agreed to a rate and fee increase in order to maintain financial stability for the water department. Citing increased costs for materials, especially water pipe and mechanical fittings, along with soaring fuel costs, the board felt it was in the best interest of the Authority to raise rates an average of 10%.    The manager indicated that there are two calculations for each water bill. The minimum monthly rate will increase 8 %.  In addition the consumption portion of each bill will increase approximately 10%, depending on usage.    Thomas indicated that a significant change in the monthly minimum allowance would be incorporated in the raise, which will ease the price increase for many customers.  The monthly minimum allowance will rise to 4000 gallons per month.  There are a significant amount of customers who go slightly over the old minimum of 3000 gallons per month and this will allow them to stay in the minimum bracket. Fees or installing outside meter settings were also raised to cover the increased costs of materials.  The increase will take effect with the next billing cycle for each district.  

October 15, 2003

Sharon Shearer appointed to board
 
The Derry Borough Council met in regular session Monday October 15, 2003 and passed an unanimous motion to appoint Mrs. Sharon L. Shearer of Derry Borough to fill the unexpired term of David McWherter, to the Board of Directors of the Municipal Authority of the Borough of Derry.  Sharon, currently a member of the Derry Borough Council,  will serve until December 31, 2003. 

September 4, 2003

The Municipal Authority has lost a dedicated public servant.  Our chairman, David M. McWherter passed away September 3, 2003 at Latrobe Hospital after an extended illness.  David was 75 years old.

He served on our board since being appointed by Derry Borough council in 1994.  David held various positions, most recently as chairman.  Although unable to attend meetings in recent months, due to a stroke, David has been appraised of all facets of our operation and has been monitoring our progress.

Mr. McWherter has been active for years serving Derry Borough as Councilman, President of Council and formerly as Mayor.

David was involved in the planning and financing of a major upgrade and repair of the Authority’s Pumping facility at Ethel Springs Lake in Derry Borough.  He will be hard to replace.

May 17, 2003

 The newest members of our Ethel Lake Family have finally arrived. 

Click on the Swan for more pictures

March 12, 2003

The Municipal Authority of the Borough of Derry has adopted a new comprehensive Right to Know policy.  This new policy sets forth the Authority’s responsibilities with regards to the requesting, examining, inspection and duplication of our records. 

These regulations will assist our customers and other citizens of Pennsylvania by divulging and clarifying the rules concerning obtaining public documents either by mail, facsimile or in person.  It explains which documents are availability and the costs associated with obtaining public records.

 March 5, 2003  

Derry Municipal Authority is entering phase III of the Partnership for Safe Water. The Partnership for Safe water is a voluntary four step or phase initiative involving rigorous self-assessment procedures that are specifically geared toward identifying and correcting weakness in plant operation, design, and administration. Correcting these weaknesses helps provide higher quality drinking water and prevents waterborne disease outbreaks from organisms like Cryptosporidium and Giardia.  The concept has been developed to heighten prevention of disease-causing organisms, to increase treatment plant performance/evaluation methods, as well as to develop public recognition for efforts toward optimal water quality.

The Derry water system serves 6500 people in Derry Borough and Derry Township. Customers will benefit from the Partnership with improved water quality.  Experts will support our water company with guidance, advice, and technical assistance for fine tuning our water treatment process.

The Partnership also strengthens the relationship of our company with the government regulators such as the PA DEP and related water organizations that are committed to improving the quality of drinking water.

Phase III is a comprehensive water treatment self-assessment.  Derry Municipal Authority will examine all the data collected from the past two years in Phase II and identify and correct any performance-limiting factors. The Authority will report its progress to the “Program Effectiveness Assessment Committee,” a group of independent national experts.

Over 300 water utilities across the nation have joined the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, American Water Works Association, The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and other water related agencies to develop this four phase program.  Derry Borough is one of three pilot programs in our region and is working closely with regional DEP personnel to implement this program.

Derry Awarded Grant -  February 16, 2003

The omnibus spending bill passed last week by Congress contains $450,000 for updates to he water system in Derry Borough and Derry Township in Westmoreland County.

Congressman Murtha of the 12^th congressional district announced yesterday that the funding, which is one of many grants slated for our area, is the result of a last-minute attempt by Congress to clean up the fiscal year 2003 federal budget.  President Bush submitted a spending plan for fiscal year 2004 several weeks ago.  

The grant money will be used for Pump House renovations according to Richard Thomas, Manager of the Derry Borough Municipal Authority.  The current pump house was built in 1933 and is in need of renovation.  New filters are scheduled for installation during the summer months.  A new lab area will be included in the renovations.  Water tests, required to be taken every few hours, can be performed more efficiently with new testing equipment. This will help safeguard the public health.

Water monitoring and gauging equipment instillation is another project to be completed with the grant money.  Flow meters, pressure gauges and water alarm switches along with their related equipment are all part of the comprehensive replacement package.  

The last pump house renovation was completed in 1989 according to Mr. Thomas.  At that time new automated controls were installed.  The pumps are still original and have a great deal of life left in them.  Filtration systems, Control and monitoring equipment replacement will be the major emphases according to Mr. Thomas.  This is the area with the shortest life span and we want to keep our equipment up to date he said.

James H. Caldwell Honored - February 25, 2003

The Authority announced recently the retirement of James H. Caldwell from its Board of Directors. Mr. Caldwell was the guest of honor at a recent reception held in Derry Borough where he was awarded two citations for community service.  Mr. Caldwell received the awards during a private dinner in which he enjoyed his favorite food; home made pizza.  Prepared by Dee Sylvester and served by Tom Sylvester, Mr. Caldwell and members of the Derry Municipal Authority, along with the Solicitor and Engineer dined on ample portions of Dee’s famous pizza. 

The awards given at the dinner included a Resolution from the Authority, recognizing Mr. Caldwell for 33 years of distinguished service to the Board of Directors.

The second award presented was a Citation from the House of Representatives.  Representative Joseph A. Petrarca of the 55 legislative district sponsored the citation honoring Mr. Caldwell for the many years of service and recognizing his many accomplishments and other awards during his tenure on the Board of Directors of the Water Authority.

Mr. Caldwell cheerfully accepted the awards and thanked the Board, and its fine members, for the recognition and stated that he enjoyed the friendship awarded him by the good fellows he was privileged to serve with for the last 33 years.