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Olyphant Borough Receives Grant to Improve Sewer System

Release Date: 9/24/2001
Contact Information: Roy Seneca (215) 814-5567

Contact: Roy Seneca 215-814-5567
PHILADELPHIA -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded a $285,000 grant to the Borough of Olyphant, Lackawanna County, Pa. to help rehabilitate a deteriorating 75-year-old sewer system that serves about 5,200 residents.

During heavy rainfalls, the system is plagued with problems of raw sewage being diverted into the Lackawanna River and with raw sewage backing up into homes and businesses in parts of the borough. The improvement project will help alleviate these problems by replacing a portion of the combined sewer system with separate sanitary and storm sewers, and installing new sanitary sewers in areas where the old lines are deteriorated.

“Old, inadequate sewer systems are a major cause of water pollution problems nationwide. This grant to Olyphant will upgrade the community’s sewers and better protect public health,” said Donald S. Welsh, regional administrator for EPA’s mid-Atlantic region.

The grant will pay for 55 percent of the estimated $518,000 project cost and the borough will provide cash for the balance.