US city undertakes sewer and water systems upgrade project to save Black Warrior River

The US city of Uniontown in the state of Pennsylvania, US, has undertaken a project to upgrade the sewer and water systems in the city in a bid to save the Black Warrior River.

Uniontown undertook the project after a report was submitted by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management saying that the sewage overflow from the city is seeping into the nearby Cottonwood Creek, which feeds into Big Prairie Creek and then flows into the the Black Warrior River near Demopolis.

Uniontown has secured finance of $4.8m to carry out repair works on the sewer and water systems, which have been underperforming and failing since 2005.

The city secured a grant of $2.3m from the US Department of Agriculture and $2.5m from municipal bonds for the project work, reported Tuscaloosanews.com.

The project work includes repair works to the sewer line, upgrades to the wastewater treatment plant and acquiring 40 acres of land to be used as a second spray field for treated wastewater.

Nearly 10% of the work has been completed, and the project is on track to meet its expected completion date of January 2014.

Alabama-based Sentell Engineering’s senior vice president John Stevens has been appointed as the lead designer of the project.

Stevens said that Birmingham-based Baird Construction is expected to complete the water meter updates by the end of March 2013.

"It’s much more accurate, and it allows them much more time to repair problems and keep the system working better," Stevens added.

The upgraded electronic water meters will help the city to save revenues from its 1,425 water customers, and reduce meter-reading times.

Baird Construction has also been awarded a contract to upgrade Uniontown’s wastewater facility.

Bama Utility of Birmingham will upgrade the service lines and manholes for the city’s 1,000 sewer customers. The work is expected to stretch beyond 31 March 2013.

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Image: The US city of Uniontown will undertake upgrade and repair work to prevent sewage seeping into the Black Warrior River. Photo: Courtesy of beigeinside / D. Robert.