Lower Mahanoy Township is located about 35 miles north of Harrisburg along Route 147 and the Susquehanna River. The present day water system was first put into existence around 1916. A group of private citizens from the community of Dalmatia purchased 107 acres just east of the small town for their water source. At that time the water came from several springs on this property and was stored in a cement reservoir holding 180,000 gallons. A distribution system consisting of cast iron piping was installed to provide water to the townspeople. Fire hydrants were also included in the original project to provide fire protection. The water system which was then called the "Dalmatia Water Company" consisted of stock holders who operated the system until 1992. At that time, Lower Mahanoy Township Municipal Authority purchased the water system. The Lower Mahanoy Township Municipal Authority was originally formed by the Township Supervisors of Lower Mahanoy Township and approved by the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania pursuant to a Certificate of Incorporation issued on October 2, 1981. The Lower Mahanoy Township Municipal Authority was incorporated for the purpose of purchasing and acquiring the Dalmatia Water Company and operating the same to provide water service to the residents of the Village of Dalmatia and other portions of Lower Mahanoy Township.
The springs are no longer in use as one well was installed in 1966 and a second in 1979 to provide the water needed to service the growing community. We currently supply water to 450 customers as opposed to 100 customers when the water system was first built. The two wells are able to produce 100,000 gallons per day but the daily average is currently 35,000 gallons. Three major projects have taken place since the Lower Mahanoy Township purchased the system. First in 1992 thru 1996 the Authority secured funding and financing to loop the water system and eliminate dead ends on the lines. Second in 2004 as part of the Georgetown Heights Housing Project, the Authority installed a booster pump station and mains to improve fire protection and pressure to the southern part of town. Third in 2006 the Authority received funding to install a manganese green sand filtration system which would reduce the Iron from 1.7 to .0 mg/l & Manganese from .117 to .0 mg/l. These issues had plagued the water system for years.
The Authority employs Ricky Spotts as a full time licensed operator and two part-time employees to perform the daily operations necessary to maintain the water system and keep the filter operating to meet all of DEP regulations and to operate and maintain the wastewater systems. One part-time secretary handles the duties in the office. Herbert Rowland & Grubic, Inc. (HRG) Harrisburg, PA is retained as the Authority's engineer. Wiest, Muolo, Noon & Swinehart is retained as the Authority's solicitor.
The Lower Mahanoy Township Municipal Authority continues to strive to make improvements for our customers served by our system. And in the future they are looking to get funding to replace the remainder of the pipes that were installed in 1916.