Officials talk with state about increasing water demands
Cornwall Borough Council members discussed Monday the borough's water supply and how to meet increasing demands demands in the future.
Councilmember Bruce Conrad reported a recent meeting of local and state officials who discussed the future of the water supply for Cornwall and Lebanon County. The meeting was attended by Dr. Brian Regli, PENNVEST board of director's chairman. PENNVEST is a non-profit agency that provides financial assistance to municipal bodies for sewer, storm sewer, and water supply projects, in the interest of environmental improvements and economic development.
In addition to Conrad, council members Bruce Harris and Anthony Fitzgibbons met with representatives from the PA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), the City of Lebanon Authority and the Elizabethtown Area Water Authority.
Regli acknowledged that Lebanon County is the second-fastest growing county in the state and it is important for Cornwall and the county to give thought and time to researching how increasing water demands will be met, according to Conrad.
During the past year Cornwall, with sizeable new development looming, has been researching the possibility of using water from the large lake that was formed in a massive pit created by past iron ore mining, which lies in the borough, or drawing water from wells that would be drilled in the vicinity of the lake.
The lake is owned by the Elizabethtown Area Water Authority and sits in the middle of a large tract of land owned by developer, Cornwall Properties. The water authority purchased the lake area years ago to use as a reservoir but has been able to adequately meet its water demands from other sources.
The borough purchases its water from the City of Lebanon Water Authority (COLA) and does its own billing. At one time COLA was allotting Cornwall 500,000 gallons a day but eventually reduced that to 250,000 when the borough was using less than half of its allotment. Conrad said the daily use is now close to 250,000 and he predicted it will increase to 325,000 gallons a day in the future.
There was also a discussion at the meeting about building a dam in Swatara State Park to create a water reservoir. According to Conrad that idea was discussed in the past but the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers discouraged the idea.
Conrad also reported that a water main broke under Juniper Street, causing a large sinkhole the size of half of the street to develop. He said an estimated 800,000 gallons of water gushed from the broken pipe into the ground.
The borough's highway and water department crews and a contractor worked at the scene throughout the weekend. Borough manager Cody Rhoads reported the throat of the sink hole was found on Monday and the pipe was repaired and the sinkhole backfilled.
Other Business
Council approved the hiring of Matthew Rothgaber as a full-time patrolman in the Cornwall Police Department. Chief Brett Hopkins told council Rothgaber has a degree in criminal justice and graduated at the top of his class from the police academy.
Mayor Mark Thomas reported that police officer Stan Finicle Jr. was given a special undercover assignment in December. He wore a red suit to disguise himself as Santa Clause at the annual community Christmas celebration in the Toytown area of Cornwall. He gathered all the information he set out to obtain.
Rhoads reported that the borough received 100% of the $3,105,062 in revenues projected in the 2023 budget. Expenditures for the year of $3,144,678 slightly exceeded the amount projected in the annual budget.
Cornwall Fire Company Chief Mark Miller distributed a statistical report of incidents to which the company responded in 2023. The highest number of calls occurred at 9 a.m., noon, and the period from 4 p.m. through 8 p.m. The chart clearly showed that most calls occurred Saturdays and the least amount of calls on Sundays.
Zoning officer Jeff Steckbeck's December report showed that building permits were issued for two new homes in the Alden Homes development and one new home in the Crossings development of Landmark Builders.