Bally Borough residents may have been in for some sticker shock when they opened their water and sewer bills last month. Despite months of public discussion about the costly and widespread infrastructure repairs the borough must complete, some residents still were surprised to see their bills jump an estimated 85 percent.

        These new rates may be in place for the next 25 years, borough officials told one concerned resident at their meeting on Tuesday. As Solicitor Matt Doll explained, state law requires that debt incurred to fix the boroughs problems must be repaid by water and sewer rate payers, and because the system is so old, the new rates reflect the anticipated future cost of those repairs.

        Failures of the system were especially apparent during last week's deluge. According to Borough Public Works Superintendent Nate Heffner, the storm that swept through the region on Feb. 24 dumped nearly 2 inches of rain in one hour alone — and nearly one-half inch in just a 10-minute period. Bally's sewer system could not handle the influx, causing eight manholes to overflow. More manholes have overflowed in the borough in the first two months of this year than in all of last year, Heffner said.

        Systems Design Engineering representative Thomas Unger told council that the storm affected manholes that haven't had problems "for years." Unger described the boroughs failing infrastructure as "the worst inflow and infiltration flow we have ever seen in any plant we've ever dealt with."

        Inflow and infiltration, or I/I, refers to sources of dilution for sewage water. Inflow generally relates to water entering sewers from improper and potentially illegal connections, such as sump pumps, cellar drains, yard drains and roof drains. Infiltration refers to instances where groundwater enters the sewer system through defective and broken pipes. Both inflow and infiltration can dilute sewage, causing treatment problems and putting strain the capacity of the water plant to handle the increased volume.

        And this is exactly what is happening in Bally.

        According to Unger, the amount of flow to the plant is nearing the allowable capacity.

"It's rough," Heffner said, but the plant is handling it.

        The vast majority of that excess flow is water; organic waste flowing to the plant is far below permissible levels. Peak flow at the plant has been recorded at 14 times the normal level, and Unger said that number is probably closer to 17 or 18 times the normal level when accounting for the blown manholes.

        Pinpointing the sources of the I/I problems has been difficult for the borough and its engineer. "We don't even know how bad it is in the system," Unger said at the meeting. "It is not free flowing right now."

        The borough and SDE are currently monitoring water meters and rain gauges to understand the scope of the problem and where the most affected areas are. Unger told officials that readings from these devices will be submitted, as required, to the state Department of Environmental Protection, which has mandated repairs. Once DEP approves the corrective action plan laid out by SDE, the borough can obtain a loan to fund the repairs.

        Unger said the plan SDE will resubmit to DEP for approval has not changed since the agency required more monitoring data last year. Because the plan has not changed, Unger said estimated project costs should also remain the same. Total costs for fixing all of Bally's water woes could reach or even exceed $3 million. Borough officials are expecting DEP to approve the plan within a month so that work can begin.

        Once the plan is approved, the borough will also have funds to purchase a a new 500,000 gallon water storage tank for the borough's well. Council decided to move forward on the bidding process for the tank, with the hope that they can soon move forward with one loan for both the new tank and sewer infrastructure repairs.

        Unger told council SDE has been trying to be more communicative with the borough and is trying to submit weekly reports about their work and findings. Council has expressed frustration with the engineer for the last two months, and in February, began requesting regular reports.

        Also at Tuesday's meeting, council agreed to grant Borough Manager Leo Mutter the power to make emergency purchases related to borough infrastructure up to $2,500 without council approval. The decision was made after council approved a $1,795 steel gate needed to assess repairs to a sludge ditch at the water treatment plant. According to Heffner, a gate on one of the ditches has been broken since 2007.

        Council members also raised concerns that new construction at Alfredo's Ristorante at Main and Ninth streets in the borough exceeds the initial understanding the borough had of the plan.

        "What is built there (at Alfredo's) is not what we saw here (in Council)," Council President Glenn Mutter said. The borough waived land development plans for the project, which was intended to create additional storage space for the restaurant and expand its ADA bathroom.

        Some council members are concerned that the building on site is much larger than they expected and questioned the business's intentions. Mutter asked Unger and SDE to monitor the situation.

        Council also voiced concerns about a proposed 1-mile walking trail at the Bally Borough Park. The Lions Club submitted a plan for council to review, but officials said that while they appreciate the idea, they are worried that the proposed route would pass too closely to the baseball field and increase liability to the borough. Leo Mutter will take council's concern to the Lions and ask a representative to respond at its next meeting.