Kidder Township is working to finalize the sale of its wastewater treatment facility, which serves 1,100 customers in the Lake Harmony area.

John Finnerty, township manager, explained that Kidder Township entered into a sale agreement with Aqua Pennsylvania's subsidiary, Little Washington Wastewater Company of Bryn Mawr, for $11,357,051 late last year. The sale is expected to be completed by June 30.Finnerty said that the township always had the goal of selling the six-acre wastewater treatment facility, as well as all collections systems and 850 grinder pumps that are on customers' properties."The township never intended to go into the sewage treatment business," he said, noting that because of the need, Kidder purchased the former Split Rock Lodge treatment plant, which serves the Lake Harmony area. "We went into the business because the cottages at Lake Harmony had old septic systems and were ruining the lake. Now the lake is crystal clear, so we met our goal and worked toward our plan to sell."Another reason Finnerty said the township planned to sell the facility was because there was no maintenance crew for the sewer system because the township did not have a sewer authority. This meant the proper equipment needed in emergency maintenance situations was not available quickly.Finnerty noted that when sewer breaks occurred, Kidder Township had to hire outside companies to do all repairs, which cost the township thousands of dollars. With Little Washington, maintenance crews will be available quicker and have the necessary equipment available that would be needed to fix problems.Finnerty also said that customers will not see any change in the cost for services, Right now, customers pay a quarterly charge of $187.50 or $62.50 a month. Once Little Washington Wastewater Company takes control residents will still pay the same fee for at least two years, due to wording in the sale contract.Currently, Little Washington Wastewater Company has an application into the Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission, requesting permission to begin to offer, rend, furnish and supply wastewater service to the public in Kidder Township.