Construction crews at the Bradford Sanitary Authority’s wastewater treatment plant have been busy.

“Despite the rainy fall season, work has been progressing on the Phase 3 wastewater treatment plant upgrades,” said Executive Director Rick Brocius after Tuesday’s authority meeting.

He described the current projects.

“Authority engineer Jack Rae reported that process piping and concrete foundation work has been installed for one of two new digester tanks,” Brocius said. “Additionally, footer and foundation walls have been poured for the new chlorine building. Work is also underway on one of two new boiler systems. This work is being expedited due to the failing condition of the existing 33-year-old boilers.”

Authority staff and contractors are planning demolition projects in the restrooms, laboratory, locker room, windows, doors and lighting. These areas will be upgraded.

Interior projects will continue all winter, but exterior projects will only continue as long as weather permits.

It was also said at the meeting that there have been no concerns noted since the Advanced Water Services LLC brine treatment process went into operation last month, Brocius reported.

“BSA staff have made numerous visits to the AWS facility to provide customer support and monitor their operations,” he added.

The authority voted in October in favor of issuing an industrial pretreatment permit to AWS for a facility at 350 High St. for treatment of brine water from area oil producers. At the facility, contaminants are removed from the brine, then what’s left is transported through the sewer system to the wastewater treatment plant on Seaward Avenue.

Meanwhile, in the collection system, new flow meters will help the authority keep track of what is coming in to the plant.

“Regarding the five new sanitary flow meters, the authority will be obtaining data plans from Verizon that will enable the meters to transmit the flow measurements from throughout the collection system back to the treatment plant on a real-time 24/7 basis,” said Brocius.

He explained that the authority will be able to use information from the meters to identify the most problematic spots and schedule repairs and improvements.

“Further reducing inflow and infiltration (I&I) is essential to preserving the future capacity of the new treatment plant,” he noted.

Brocius also gave an update on the recent stormwater system work.

“BSA crews wrapped up the new stormwater line and basins on Rockland Avenue resolving a water ponding issue in the street,” he said. Also, “Some blacktop and curb work will be completed on Rockland in the spring.”

Additionally, the authority is hopeful a crew will be able to take on an infiltration and overflow system project on Marion Avenue before the snow is too severe, he said. They are now processing easement agreements with property owners in the area.

“The Authority is hopeful that it can complete the work before the spring snow melt providing much needed improvements to the drainage in the area,” Brocius added.

The sanitary authority took over management of the stormwater system a couple of years ago, and since that time, the authority has been busy making repairs to it.

Brocius reported that in 2018, the authority has cleaned, performed GIS mapping and video recording and made repairs on 3,998 linear feet of storm lines, and they installed 456 feet of new line at three spots.

“Similar work was also done on 64 catch basins, which included installing new basins where the streets were designated for new paving,” he said. “An additional 27 basins were repaired with assistance from the city (Department of Public Works) staff.”

In light of a Forman Street bridge project and streetscape projects that are in the works in Bradford City, officials are considering if any sanitary or stormwater improvement should be made in those areas at the same time. The authority participated in planning meetings with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and the local Office of Community and Economic Development to discuss it.

This month, authority staff took part in multiple training efforts. They attended a PA One-Call Locator class in Emporium and a PA One-Call Excavator class in Bradford, and they participated in two webinars on tapping fees and the Municipal Authorities Act.

Authority members will also have the chance to pass along some of their own knowledge, too.

Brocius said the federal Environmental Protection Agency and the Rural Community Assistance Partnership program approached the authority about hosting a class — a waste treatment operators’ class on process control, which will be held Dec. 13.

Registration is closed, and 27 operators from around western Pennsylvania are signed up to participate.

“Highlights from the training will be shared on the Authority’s website and Facebook pages following the class,” Brocius said.