Northampton moves ahead with design for new wastewater treatment plant at former middle school

By Ava Canade

At Tuesday night’s June meeting of the Northampton County Board of Supervisors, the design for a new wastewater treatment plant serving the Community Center and School Board Office was approved.

In a memo presented on behalf of Chris Thomas, Public Engineer and Director of Public Works—who was unable to attend—County Administrator Charlie Kolakowski explained that the existing system is more than 60 years old and currently handles only about 15% of its original design capacity due to aging infrastructure. With planned growth at the former middle school site, now serving as a community center, the system would not be able to accommodate increased usage.

Kolakowski requested $77,200 for the project, noting that the amount is well below the $137,600 allocated in the budget.

The new treatment facility will be designed to handle an average of 4,000 gallons per day, with the capacity to expand to 8,000 gallons per day in the future if needed.

The Board unanimously approved the request. The project is expected to take between 6 and 12 months to complete.