KANE — Pennsylvania American Water Company announced that it will be investing approximately $880,000 to upgrade treatment facilities at the company’s Kane Water Treatment Plant.

The investment will include upgrading the plant’s primary treatment facilities including the sedimentation basin, which was installed in the late 1880s.

Gary Lobaugh, manager of external affairs for Pennsylvania American Water, said, “This sedimentation basin has reached the end of its useful lifespan. This plant is one of the company’s oldest and parallels the start of the company, having faithfully served us for more than 130 years.”

Dan Edinger, senior supervisor of operation for the Kane District for the company, showed a piece of a wooden water pipe that was part of the original system and excavated earlier this year during the current project. It was remarkably well preserved despite its more-than-a-century of service.

According to Edinger, seven wells and seven springs comprise the primary water sources for the approximately 5,000 customers in the plant’s service area of Kane Borough and portions of Wetmore Township. “We typically produce about 400,000 gallons of water daily, plus there are about one million gallons in storage in town.”

“More times than not, water doesn’t go immediately to the customers,” said Lobaugh. “Instead, it goes to storage tanks, which gives us enough backup in case of an emergency.”

A company official described how the system works.

“Sedimentation basins are the first step in the treatment process and remove particles from the source water,” said Pennsylvania American Water Senior Project Manager Jed Fiscus. “It’s where we collect all of our sources: spring water and well water that come into this basin.

“Then, any of the organic material that is not to be in the treatment process will settle out into the bottom of the basin. That way, we’ll only bring in the water that doesn’t settle out to the filters for treatment.”

The existing basin, constructed in the 19th century, is built of cut stone, Fiscus said. “It was basically built into the hillside. There are three walls and the fourth one is the hillside.”

Water from the springs enter the upper section and the well water is pumped into the same section, while the treatment process occurs mainly in the lower section of the basin. Sediment is removed periodically.

Part of this project is adding another wall near the upper part of the basin, which will allow the company to isolate the spring and well water, providing the opportunity to pick and choose the type of water to be used, Fiscus noted.

Lobaugh explained, “If we have to face an event where one of the sources would be compromised, this new facility would give us the opportunity to isolate and remove from service one of the sources.”

Spring water is utilized as much as possible.

Construction began in October and is expected to be completed in spring 2018. Mealy Excavating and Construction Inc. of Tionesta is the general contractor for the project. The company doesn’t expect any interruptions in service during the construction.

The Kane Water Treatment Plant has been recognized by the Partnership for Safe Drinking Water Program, which is administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Pennsylvania Department of Environment Protection and other water related organizations.

The Directors Award from the Partnership for Safe Water honors water utilities for achieving operational excellence by voluntarily optimizing their treatment facility operations and adopting more stringent performance goals than those required by federal and state drinking water standards. The Kane system has met the program’s voluntary goals for 15 consecutive years.

Pennsylvania American Water, a subsidiary of American Water, is the largest water utility in the state, providing high quality and reliable water and/or wastewater services to about 2.3 million customers. It reports to the Public Utility Commission and the DEP.

Founded in 1886, American Water is the largest publically traded U.S. water and wastewater utility company.

Marking its 130th anniversary this year, the company employs more than 6,700 professionals who provide regulated and market-based drinking water, wastewater and other related services to an estimated 15 million people in 47 states and Ontario, Canada.