McKees Rocks Leaders And Residents Concerned About Alcosan's Plan To Dig Massive Hole In Ground To Fix Sewer Systems
MCKEES ROCKS, Pa. (KDKA) -- It's a $2 billion project to fix our region's sewer systems — the largest public works program in our history — and it may begin in a parking lot over the objections of the people who live in the area.
Every time it rains hard, our antiquated sewer system gets overloaded and dumps untreated sewage in our rivers and streams. Alcosan is under federal orders to fix it.
The plan is to build a network of tunnels underground and under rivers to hold and convey that waste to Alcosan's treatment plant. And over the objections of people in the area, the construction would kick off in a parking lot in McKees Rocks.
"A pit the size of a football field is going to be here to launch a tunnel that is going to go under the river," said attorney Steve Engel.
McKees Rocks is taking Alcosan to court to block the construction of this new sanitary sewer from the parking lot — under the Ohio River — to the treatment plant on the other side. To build it, the officials would use a giant boring machine similar to the one that tunneled under the Allegheny River to create a path for our subway to the North Shore.
The borough says the five-year plan is going to create dust, dirt, and noise. The borough also says the plan will snarl traffic and derail its hopes for redevelopment.
"We finally have a full plaza for the first time in years. This is one of our biggest parcels and that's $28,000 of taxes just for the borough," said Archie Brinza, council president.
But under Alcosan's recently revised Wet Weather Plan, this opposition could be played out throughout the region. After completing the sewer, the plan is to build miles of underground tunnels designed to capture sewage overflows before they spill into the rivers.
A few years back, KDKA traveled to Washington, D.C., which built tunnels under similar federal orders. Today, Alcosan said it will not comment on pending litigation. But in a statement, Alcosan said plans at the McKees Rocks site and elsewhere are not set in stone.
"ALCOSAN does not yet have plans for the site, but will utilize it as part of our Clean Water Plan. As always, ALCOSAN remains committed to working with our partner communities as we move forward to improve the water quality in our rivers and streams," the statement said.
