Altoona Water Authority approves interconnection deal to provide Tyrone backup

Borough proposed agreement in case of emergency water shortage

The Altoona Water Authority board recently approved an interconnection agreement with the Tyrone Borough Authority that would provide a backup for the borough.

The borough proposed the interconnection about a year ago in case of an emergency water shortage in Tyrone, whose only water source is a reservoir along Route 453 northwest of the borough.

The borough will extend a line about 800 feet so it can tie into an AWA line near Cold Springs Road and East Pleasant Valley Boulevard, according to Mike Bianconi, the Altoona authority's director of water operations.

The state Department of Environmental Protection supports the interconnection redundancy, according to AWA Executive Director Mark Perry.

Tyrone is paying for the interconnection, but the interconnection could flow both ways, if necessary, Bianconi said.

Tyrone sought the interconnection in case something happened with its reservoir or plant, borough Water Superintendent Don Shultz told the Mirror last year.

Shultz had asked the DEP about reactivating the borough's well field at first, but was told that wasn't an option, he said then.

Tyrone Borough Council approved the interconnection agreement in August.

At the same meeting, the AWA board approved an application for a Local Share Assessment grant of up to $300,000 to purchase a return activated sludge pump for the Westerly Sewage Treatment Plant.

No match is required, said Brad Kelley, sewer operations director.

The current pump was purchased in 2011 and "maintenance is creeping up," Kelly said.

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.