Aqua Pennsylvania receives grant to build water treatment facility

The Pennsylvania state budget, which became law on Nov. 23, provides Aqua Pennsylvania a $3.9 million grant to construct a treatment facility at its North Hills well in Upper Dublin Township, Montgomery County.

The well is no longer in service. Funding will be used to remove Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS).

“We have worked for years with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection completing studies showing that the proposed resin treatment system will provide the desired results and are so pleased to begin the construction phase,” Marc Lucca, Aqua Pennsylvania president, said.

Aqua Pennsylvania services approximately 1.4 million people in 32 counties.

Its parent company, Essential Utilities, committed funding earlier this year to install mitigation technology at water treatment facilities with PFOA, PFOS, and Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances levels that exceed 13 parts per trillion.

These chemicals do not break down over time and have been linked to various health conditions, including cancer.

The investment will be over the course of several years in the eight states where Aqua operates.

Essential serves approximately 5 million people in 10 states under the Aqua and Peoples brands, making it one of the largest publicly traded water, wastewater, and natural gas providers in the country.