On March 25, 1989, when the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania adopted the Filtration
Regulation, there were 231 unfiltered surface water sources operating in
Pennsylvania. The final deadline for either providing disinfection and
filtration, or abandoning these unfiltered surface sources, was December 31,
1995. Based on concerns about contamination, unfiltered surface sources were
phased out over a six-year period. Unfiltered surface sources with known
waterborne disease outbreaks were the first priority, with a disinfection and
filtration deadline of December 31, 1991. Unfiltered surface sources with high
coliform bacteria, high turbidity, or failed disinfectant residuals were
addressed next. The remaining unfiltered surface sources with no known problems,
other than an unfiltered surface water source, had a disinfection/filtration or
abandonment deadline of December 31, 1995.
By December 31, 1989, 23 unfiltered surface sources were in compliance with the
Filtration Regulation. By December 31, 1995, an additional 154 unfiltered
surface sources had complied with the Filtration Regulation. An additional 46
systems complied with the Filtration Regulation by December 31, 1996.
Ultimately, 5 of the original 231 sources remain unfiltered. These systems,
which together serve less than 1,000 people, have not complied with the
Filtration Regulation and have been involved in ongoing enforcement actions for
violating the regulation.
More than half (145) of the original 231 unfiltered surface water sources
achieved compliance voluntarily and required no formal enforcement action
against them. Formal enforcement actions consisting of consent order and
agreements, compliance orders and/or civil penalties were issued against 86
systems. Additional enforcement actions before Commonwealth Court, such as a
petition to enforce a compliance order and/or consent decree, were issued to
only 19 systems. More than half (153) of the unfiltered surface water sources
met the filtration deadlines set forth by regulation, consent order and
agreement, compliance order, or consent decree.
Systems could achieve compliance with the Pennsylvania Filtration Regulation by
providing adequate filtration and disinfection of surface water to remove and
inactivate Giardia cysts and enteric viruses; or, by abandoning their
surface sources and depending on other sources of water. There were 42
unfiltered surface water sources abandoned with systems using existing
groundwater sources and/or existing interconnections with other public water
supplies. A total of 69 unfiltered surface water sources were abandoned with new
groundwater sources developed. Abandonment of the surface water sources and new
interconnections with other public water systems was the solution for 17
unfiltered surface water sources. Filtration and disinfection treatment plants
were constructed for 117 unfiltered surface water sources.
On March 1, 1988, the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority Act,
commonly known as PENNVEST, was signed into law. The Authority is managed by a
13-member Board of Directors chaired by the Governor and consisting of Cabinet
Secretaries, legislative leaders and private citizens. PENNVEST was initially
capitalized by over $1.0 billion in state and federal funds. An additional $350
million voter referendum was approved in May of 1992.
PENNVEST provides low interest loans (normally 1% - 4%) and limited grant funds
for financing water supply, sewage and stormwater control projects. In the
drinking water program, funding is available to publicly owned community water
systems and limited funding is available to privately owned systems. Due to the
revolving nature of the program, it was originally expected that over $2.5
billion of new construction could be financed over 25 years.
Since 1988, more than 676 community water system projects have been offered
financial assistance of over $1.2 billion to construction projects with a total
cost of more than $1.6 billion. Of this total assistance amount, almost $1.2
billion was provided in the form of low interest loans and almost $40 million
was grant funding.
Virtually every application submitted by a publicly owned community water system
to construct filtration facilities was approved for at least partial PENNVEST
funding. Approximately 130 funding applications for projects to filter,
eliminate or cover surface water received a PENNVEST funding offer. About 30
additional applications included the covering or replacement of uncovered
finished water storage. The total PENNVEST funding offer for unfiltered source
projects has been almost $320 million. The total project costs for these
applications is approximately $440 million. Almost 800,000 Pennsylvania
residents benefited from these water system improvements.
More than 80 percent of the projects approved to address the need for new or
improved filtration were for systems serving fewer than 10,000 people. More than
half of the approved applications were from systems serving 3,300 or fewer
people. This was significant because the smaller the customer base the greater
the need for low cost financing. A needs survey of all community water systems
conducted by the Department in 1990 estimated that the average cost per
residential connection of needed system improvements for systems serving 100 or
fewer people was about $260, while the average cost per connection for systems
serving over 10,000 people was expected to be only about $40.
After suffering through a number of waterborne giardiasis outbreaks, Pennsylvania residents are now benefiting from a statewide investment in their drinking water facilities. The key to successful filter plant performance has been to empower water system personnel to improve their own technical, financial and managerial capabilities. Hundreds of dedicated municipal and company officials as well as conscientious utility operators have progressively focused their efforts on improving the performance of their drinking water facilities, thus leading to improved health protection for the consumers they serve.
