Lower Towamensing Township has approved a professional services agreement with ARRO Consulting for the township’s sewer plant project.

A bid award for the township’s sewer plant project is anticipated by next year.

At last month’s meeting, Doug Kopp, a civil engineer with ARRO Consulting, discussed a new timeline for the sewer project.

Kopp told the board they are now projecting a bid award by April 2027, which he said was aggressive, but a schedule that is doable.

Kopp said they are more than 60% complete, with the exception of the pump station, which he added needs to be more designed than it was currently at.

He then provided supervisors with an amendment to amend the previous Professional Services Agreement dated March 29, 2024, between ARRO Consulting Inc. and the township to provide consulting engineering services for the design of a new gravity sanitary sewer system, pump station and force main.

These additional services are to be provided for a not-to-exceed fee of $230,000, an increase in the previous fees for a new not-to-exceed fee of $333,000.

The board tabled the matter until its March meeting.

The proposed pump station is anticipated to be a submersible pump station with pumps capable of pumping at about 500 gallons per minute, with no building.

The station will be enclosed by a chain-link fence with one light and surface-mounted electrical controls.

Emergency power will be provided by a diesel generator with a fuel tank capable of providing 72 hours of power when full.

The revised schedule is as follows:

• Complete design by May.

• Submit permit applications by June.

• Submit 60% of design by June.

• Receive comments by June.

• Receive permits by November.

• Submit 90% of design by December.

• Submit 100% of design by January 2027.

• Advertise by February 2027.

• Open bids by March 2027.

• Award bid by April 2027.

In August, Kopp told supervisors the next step was to submit for sewer and environmental permits related to sewer and construction.

Kopp said at that time the project’s anticipated timetable was slightly off by a few months.

He said last February that the north and south sides of Little Gap Road would become low pressure.

Kopp said the users would be the same 28 customers who would need grinder pumps.

He said the system savings projection would reduce the cost from $15 million to $13.5 million.

Supervisors then gave Kopp the go-ahead to pursue converting that section from gravity to a grinder pump station.

Kopp said the next step was to pursue permits from various state agencies.

The sewer project has been under consideration for decades. It gained steam under Carbon Engineering in 2022, but stalled. ARRO Consulting took over the project in 2023, but progress was slow as it waited to receive all of the CAD drawings from Carbon Engineering, not knowing if they would have to start the project from the beginning.

Carbon wouldn’t release all of their work because of a payment discrepancy with the township. By March of 2024, ARRO was getting the CAD files it needed.

In March 2024 the professional services agreement was expected to cost the township $103,000.