Company Profile
Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County
Company Overview
MAWC serves over 123,000 drinking water customers in a five-county region, and approximately 31,000 wastewater customers
MAWC has three drinking water treatment plants which can produce over 80 million gallons of water per day. All three have undergone recent updates.
MAWC has 2,400 miles of water transmission lines; 8,600 hydrants; 68 water storage tanks with a capacity of 109 million gallons; 48 pumping stations and 95 pressure regulators.
MAWC water mains laid end to end from Greensburg would stretch west nearly to southernmost Alaska, or south to Colombia.
Company History
The Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County is made up of acquired potable water and wastewater systems that have been integrated through careful planning over decades.
On the potable water side of MAWC’s business, this has taken place over the last 80 years. MAWC has only been in the wastewater business since 2001, but is beginning to realize efficiencies that come from regional management, such as the recent decommissioning of the Youngwood wastewater treatment plant.
Recent acquisitions were in keeping with the vision and strategic plan put forward by MAWC’s board of directors over the past 10 years, who envisioned a regional water and wastewater system which could utilize our efficiencies and expertise.
MAWC was created by the Westmoreland County Commissioners on April 9, 1942, and celebrated its 80th year in business in 2022.
Dating back to its first acquisition in 1943, MAWC is made up of acquired systems that have subsequently been tied together and improved.
This is in keeping with the founding resolution for MAWC, and subsequent studies that call for consolidation in the fragmented water and wastewater industry.
On May 8, 1942, the county commissioners resolved that MAWC should acquire, hold, construct, improve, maintain and operate water works, water supply works, water distribution systems in the county of Westmoreland and the territory adjacent which it may deem beneficial to the public interest, and that MAWC take such action as may be necessary to finance said projects.
Nationwide, there are hundreds of electric and gas utilities, but there are more than 50,000 potable water systems and about 16,000 wastewater plants. Both academics and the water industry foresee continued consolidation in the water industry (see at bottom for study excerpts and links).
MAWC believes that for governments that choose to solicit MAWC for acquisition, consolidation can be a win-win-win. The local government receives cash to deal with other priorities, MAWC can run the system more efficiently, control remains local, and nonprofit pricing for water services remains in effect.
In a recent report prepared for MAWC’s board by MAWC’s management company, Resource Development and Management Inc., it states: “With environmental requirements becoming increasingly stringent, small wastewater utilities acting alone can be overwhelmed by complex regulations and financial requirements. When these infrastructure issues are addressed at the regional level on a multi-municipality basis, the ability to comply with the environmental requirements becomes much more cost effective.”
While MAWC was originally made up of isolated acquired systems, on the potable water side, these have been interconnected over the past 80 years to make up two large regional systems. The Indian Creek and Sweeney systems are today robustly interconnected by 19 miles of 48-inch water main, which allows them to support one another readily in the event of a brief issue at either water treatment plant.
More recent potable water system acquisitions, such as Ligonier and McKeesport, are interconnected to neighboring systems, which increases their reliability of service.
When considering acquisitions, MAWC does not approach other systems with proposals for purchase without an invitation to do so. Likewise, our acquisitions must make sense financially by being supportive to the bottom line of the authority.
Potable Water System
The drinking water system of MAWC was developed over the past 80 years through the strategic acquisition of established systems and planned water line extensions to accommodate growth in the communities we serve.
In 1943, MAWC acquired Citizens Water Co. In 1950, MAWC acquired Westmoreland Water Co. in Greensburg and Vandergrift Water Co. and started planning to build today's Beaver Run Reservoir. McKeesport's Water System was purchased in 1987.
Citizens Water served Scottdale, Mt. Pleasant, and Everson Boroughs, and portions of East and South Huntingdon townships from its treatment works on Bridgeport Dam.
Westmoreland Water Co., North Huntingdon Township Authority and West Newton Water Co. were acquired in the 1950s, and served the cities of Greensburg, Jeanette, the boroughs of South and Southwest Greensburg, Penn, Manor, Irwin, West Newton, and portions of Hempfield, North Huntingdon, Penn, South Huntingdon and Unity townships. The Greensburg area was served by the Water Works in South Greensburg.
The Vandergrift Water Co. served Vandergrift, East Vandergrift, Hyde Park, Oklahoma, Apollo, North Apollo, and Leechburg boroughs, along with some bordering townships in Westmoreland and Armstrong counties. The original Vandergrift treatment works was on the Kiskiminetas River near where Route 66 crosses the river today.
MAWC worked with Allegheny Ludlum Steel Corp. to build Beaver Run Reservoir through an agreement signed on May 10, 1950.
The May 10, 1950 contract between Allegheny Ludlum and MAWC states in part:
Whereas, Allegheny Ludlum requires large quantities of untreated water at its West Leechburg steel plant, and desires to make arrangements to obtain a reliable supply of such water in sufficient quantity; and
Whereas, MAWC has entered into agreements to acquire the common stock of Westmoreland Water Co. and the Vandergrift Water Co., and intends, immediately after to operate the same as part of its water system, and;
Whereas, MAWC proposed after its acquisition (of Westmoreland and Vandergrift Water) to substantially expand its facilities and to construct an impounding dam and reservoir on Beaver Run in Westmoreland County, which reservoir will have sufficient storage capacity to meet the requirements of the authority’s water system, and in addition, to supply the untreated water requirements of the West Leechburg Plant; and
Whereas, the authority is willing to construct a transmission line from its reservoir to the West Leechburg Plant and, as soon as practicable after the completion of said transmission line, the authority desires to sell to Allegheny Ludlum, and Allegheny Ludlum desires to purchase from the authority, and
Whereas the execution at this time of an agreement covering the sale of untreated water by the authority to Allegheny Ludlum will assist the authority in the financing of the above-described program, and accordingly, the parties desire to execute this agreement.
A $24 million bond issue financed the construction of the Beaver Run Reservoir and its original treatment plant and the interconnection of the northern portion of MAWC’s system through the installation of 200 miles of pipe.
In the 1960s, MAWC acquired the Mountain Water Supply Co. from the Pennsylvania Railroad, which included a 30-inch pipe that ran from the Indian Creek Reservoir in Fayette County to the South Side of Pittsburgh. The reservoir and pipe was originally used to fill ponds for steam engines along the railroad. Today, the pipe serves portions of MAWC’s service territory with potable water, though the pipe was capped in Wall borough, Allegheny County.
Prior to the construction of Indian Creek Supply Filtration Plant in 1973, MAWC was operating nine reservoirs in the southern portion of its service area with a storage of only 63 million gallons.
The Indian Creek plant was built on the Youghiogheny River in Dunbar Township at the site of a former electrical generation plant. Indian Creek still uses the original dam that supplied the electric plant with water for steam generation and cooling. The construction of Indian Creek WTP allowed MAWC to decommission all nine small reservoirs.
In the 1980s, MAWC acquired water systems in New Alexandria, Herminie, White Oak, McKeesport and Port Vue and constructed the McKeesport Water Treatment Plant.
In the 1990s, MAWC acquired water systems in Saltsburg, Wall, and West Leechburg boroughs, and Conemaugh, Forward, Loyalhanna, and Kiski townships, along with several small systems, including Moween, Murry Woods Estates, Salina, Truxal, Tinsmill and William Penn Estates.
In 2006, MAWC bought the water and wastewater system of the former Ligonier Municipal Authority.
As a result of these and other acquisitions and expansions, the potable water service area as now comprised extends approximately 25 miles from east to west and 40 miles from north to south and incorporates over 2,400 miles of pipeline.
Since 1973, the Authority has relied on the following two principal sources of supply:
BEAVER RUN RESERVOIR
The Beaver Run Reservoir was constructed in 1952 and then enlarged in 1962. It has a present capacity of 11 billion gallons and a safe yield of 45 million gallons of water per day.
THE YOUGHIOGHENY RIVER
The Youghiogheny River is the other principal source of supply, with a drainage area of 1,326 square miles and a minimum flow of 213 million gallons of water per day.
The system is currently served by the following three modern treatment facilities:
INDIAN CREEK SUPPLY FILTRATION PLANT
The Indian Creek Supply Filtration Plant, located in Dunbar Township, near the City of Connellsville, has a rated capacity of 40 million gallons per day and draws its water supply from both Indian Creek and the Youghiogheny River and serves the southern portion of the MAWC service territory and the North Versailles area. This facility was constructed in 1973 and was upgraded in 1979 and again in 2017-2018. There is a planned $30 million expansion underway to increase capacity to 50 million gallons per day by 2025.
MCKEESPORT FILTRATION PLANT
The McKeesport Filtration Plant, located in the City of McKeesport, was completed in 1990 with a rated capacity of 10 million gallons per day. The McKeesport Plant draws its water supply from the Youghiogheny River and serves the McKeesport, White Oak and Port Vue portion of the MAWC service territory.
THE GEORGE R. SWEENEY WATER TREATMENT PLANT
The George R. Sweeney Water Treatment Plant is located at the Beaver Run Reservoir in Bell Township. This facility replaced a smaller filtration plant and went online in July 1997. Upgraded in 2015, it has a rated capacity of 24 million gallons per day. This facility serves the northern portion of the MAWC service territory.
In 2012, the MAWC completed an interconnection to the Greater Johnstown Water Authority, allowing it to decommission its Furnace Run Water Treatment Plant. The Ligonier area is now served by water treated by GJWA from its North Fork Reservoir.
The MAWC also sells water in bulk to Duquesne, Monroeville, and Plum in Allegheny County; Belle Vernon, Pennsylvania American and Pleasant Valley in Fayette County; and Parks and Gilpin in Armstrong County.
Wastewater System
MAWC acquired its first wastewater system in 2001. The wastewater system now serves Jeannette City, Hempfield, East Huntingdon, Sewickley, and Upper Tyrone townships and the Boroughs of Avonmore, Everson, Ligonier, Mt. Pleasant, Penn, Scottdale, White Oak, and Youngwood, along with parts of the City of Greensburg, North Huntingdon, and Unity townships.
The combined area is served by 11 wastewater treatment plants.
The wastewater system, while still somewhat fragmented, is moving towards becoming watershed-based, which allows maximum efficiency. Municipality-based systems often have more treatment plants than are strictly necessary, and sometimes utilize lift (pump) stations to move water from a city or township boundary, uphill to the municipal treatment plant, instead of utilizing gravity and allowing the wastewater to flow to a close by plant that’s downhill in another municipality.
For example, after acquiring Hempfield’s wastewater system, the Youngwood plant was decommissioned, because the borough’s wastewater could flow by gravity to the former Hempfield wastewater plant near Hunker borough.
If MAWC is approached by other systems, it will entertain further acquisitions in the future, in keeping with the vision of its board, and when those proposed transactions make sense financially. As those acquisitions occur, further efficiencies are anticipated.
Notable Accomplishments / Recognition
Visit https://www.mawc.org/history for details.
Benefits
401(k)
401(k) matching
Dental insurance
Health insurance
Health savings account
Life insurance
Paid time off
Professional development assistance
Tuition reimbursement
Vision insurance
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