An upgrade of the Upper Montgomery Joint Authority plant costing more than $19 million and four years in the making is underway.  A notice to proceed was issued January 29 to the four contractors doing the work, according to plant superintendent Glenn Quinn.

            Modernization of the plant, located at 1100 Mensch Dam Road in Upper Hanover, will allow authority officials to prepare for stricter nutrient removal standards. The facility – established in 1960 –serves approximately 3,300 customers in the boroughs of Red Hill, East Greenville and Pennsburg.

            A 40-year loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, at an interest rate not to exceed 3.635 percent, will fund the legally required upgrades to prepare for stricter nutrient removal standards, allow the facility to better manage that flow and eliminate an antiquated holding tank, according to Quinn.

            Worth & Company, a Pipersville firm, will be paid $16.576 million to complete the general construction. Clipper Pipe from Eddystone is responsible for the HVAC at a cost of $539,000. Myco Mechanical, a Telford firm, has been contracted for the plumbing work at $239,000. Philips Brothers, from Glenmoore, was awarded the electrical contract worth $1.956 million, according to an email from the superintendent.

            In December 2015, the authority's directors voted unanimously to approve a $10 million interim financing loan from Quakertown National Bank. The interim loan, secured at a fixed rate of 2 percent over four years, will be used to help the authority complete the design and bidding phases, according to Daryl Peck, a financial consultant from Concord Public Finance.

            Earlier this month, the authority's board of directors approved a sewer rate increase of 7 percent to cover the loan requirements, according to Quinn. He said that will be implemented on May 1.

            A groundbreaking at the plant has been scheduled for 11 a.m. on Tuesday March 20. On March 19, UMJA officials will present a 90-minute documentary at the Grand Theater in East Greenville that tells the story of essential infrastructure systems. "Liquid Assets: The Story of Water Infrastructure" is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.