AUTHORITY HISTORY
In
1937, the
Townships of Springfield, Ridley and Nether Providence and the Boroughs of
Morton, Swarthmore, Rutledge, Prospect Park and Ridley Park created the
Central Delaware County Authority. The Authority, with the help
of the Works Progress Administration, constructed trunk sewers and an
effluent line to move the discharge of raw sewage that went into the Crum Creek, Little Crum
Creek and
Stoney Creek to
the Delaware River. The effluent line discharge point was located
just south of the intersection of
Darby
Creek
and the
Delaware River, on the property of General Steel Casting.
Moving the wastewater discharge away from the public to a larger receiving
water body protected the public health and the environment of the south
central part of the county.
On September 20, 1938, the Municipalities and the Authority signed an
agreement to extend the effluent line 984 feet south along the river. The move was to relocate the discharge below
the water intake of General Steel Casting.
In
addition, the 1938 agreement turned over the responsibility to operate and
maintain the trunk line sewers to the Authority.
Just a few months later, the
Municipalities and the Authority signed an agreement to construct the Crum
Creek Pump Station. This pump station and force main eliminated the
overflows into the creek by transferring the flows from the Crum Creek
Interceptor to the main effluent line.
By an
agreement dated October 22, 1951, the Authority constructed a wastewater
treatment plant to reduce the pollutant loading to the Delaware River.
A primary treatment plant, located on
Sellers Ave.
in Ridley
Township,
was constructed.
The plant was designed to
remove and treat solid particles from the flow. The treatment
consisted of a series of grit removal channels and primary settling tanks.
No biological treatment was provided. The settled sludge was treated in anaerobic digesters then dewatered on
drying beds.
The
Township of
Marple
joined the Authority in 1960. This required that the trunk sewer line
along the Crum Creek be extended into the Township.
The line was constructed along Crum Creek, to the
Delaware
County
Community College
and a branch was extended along Trout Run, terminating just south of Route 3
(West Chester Pike and Media Line Road
).
On December 1,
1973, the Authority signed an agreement with the Delaware County Regional
Water Quality Control Authority (DELCORA).
This agreement provided for the
regionalization of sewage treatment at
Philadelphia’s
Southwest Treatment Plant.
DELCORA purchased the
Authority’s Central Pump Station in Ridley
Township.
After some
modifications, the flows from the nine municipalities were diverted to the
Philadelphia
plant.
The Authority’s own plant was
decommissioned and the land sold.
The Philadelphia wastewater treatment plant was designed
to provide secondary treatment. Secondary treatment added a biological
process that the Authority's plant lacked. Consequently, the quality
of the water discharge to the Delaware River improved to meet the
requirements of the newly enacted Federal Water Pollution Control Act.
Starting in 2001,
negotiations with the Townships of Upper Providence and
Newtown
were initiated for the purpose of providing service to portions of those
communities.
In 2003, a service agreement was
signed with Newtown
Township
to accept up to 250,000 gallons per day from new developments being built.
In 2004, an agreement to accept up to17,000 gallons per day from
Upper Providence
was signed.
This agreement provides service to
the homes along Farnum Road
that are experiencing failing septic tanks.
Flows from CDCA pass through the
Central Delaware Pump Station. This facility is owned and operated by DELCORA.
The pump station was modified in 2003. It now has the added capability
to send CDCA's flows to the
Western Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant,
owned by DELCORA, as well as to the Philadelphia
Southwest Water Pollution
Control Plant.
Effective March 2009,
the Authority welcomed the Townships of Edgmont, Newtown, and
Upper Providence as authority members. With their membership, the
Authority will provide serve to the entire lower Crum Creek Watershed.