The Horsham Water and Sewer Authority is a community water and sewer system serving a population of approximately 23,000 people within the Township of Horsham.  The Water Authority was organized in 1954 to provide water service, and the Sewer Authority was organized in 1963 to provide sewer service in the Township.

The Horsham Water and Sewer Authority is a body corporate and politic organized in 1963 as the Township of Horsham Sewer Authority, by the Township of Horsham, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, (the “Township”) under the Municipal Authorities Act of 1945, approved May 2, 1945, PL. 382 as amended (the “Act”).  In 1997, the Authority acting in conjunction with the Horsham Water Authority (the “Water Authority”) and the Township determined to take the necessary authorizing actions to consolidate the water and sewer service functions being separately performed by the Authority and the Water Authority.  The Township by Ordinance dated October 7, 1997, took necessary authorizing action to amend the Authority’s Articles of Incorporation to reconstitute and rename the Authority.  The reconstituted and renamed Authority has the power to construct, finance, operate and maintain water and sewer systems.  On November 24, 1998, the Authority purchased all assets of the Water Authority and assumed all of the liabilities of the Water Authority.

The governing body of the Authority is a Board consisting of seven members appointed by the Horsham Township Council.  The terms of the members of the Board are five years each.  The terms of the members are staggered so that no more than two (2) members of the Board are to be appointed in any year.  Members of the Board may be reappointed.  The present Authority is made up of the following members; 

Jon Hartmaier, Donald Cohen, Thomas B. Carr,

The Sewer System

The Authority’s wastewater treatment plan divides the Township into five drainage districts, designated Areas A, B, C, D and E.  Areas A, B and C are located in the southern and eastern portions of the Township, where natural flow or drainage is easterly in the direction of Pennypack Creek.  Areas D and E comprise the central and western portions of the Township, respectively and drain northerly in the direction of Neshaminy Creek.

The Authority’s initial collection system serving Area A was initiated in 1964 and completed in 1967.  The collection systems for Areas B and C were completed in 1971 and 1972, respectively.  Pursuant to an agreement dated July 16, 1959 and subsequently amended, (the Capacity Agreement) between the Authority and the Upper Moreland-Hatboro Joint Sewer Authority (the “Joint Authority”), sewage collected from Areas A, B and C is treated in a sewage treatment plant owned by the Joint Authority.

Under the Capacity Agreement, the Authority has rights to approximately 33% of the Joint Authority’s treatment plant’s capacity of 7 million gallons per day.  The Authority’s share of costs of operation of the Joint Authority’s plant are in proportion to the amount of sewage attributable to the Authority.  The cost of maintenance and repairs is apportioned on the same basis as was used in calculating the Authority’s capital contribution with respect to the construction and subsequent upgrading of the Joint Authority’s plant.  Sewage is treated to the tertiary level at the Joint Authority’s plant as required under an order issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

In 1986, the authority purchased the Wichard Sewage Treatment Plant to provide wastewater treatment in Area D.  The Wichard Plant had been built privately and was originally designed to service a single residential development.  In 1991, the Authority completed construction of its Park Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant which has a total permitted capacity of 500,000 gallons per day (0.50 mgd).  The completion of the Park Creek Plant and the construction of interceptor sewer lines allowed the Authority to divert wastewater flow to the Park Creek Plant and to demolish the Wichard Plant.  The location of the Park Creek Plant allows wastewater to flow by gravity to the plant.  The Authority owns and operates two pumping stations in Area D to connect various developments with the Authority’s sewer interceptor lines.

The Authority began construction in 1997, to upgrade the Park Creek Plant to a total permitted capacity of 1.0 mgd.  The plant expansion is now completed.  The Authority expects to use cash flow from operations to finance the construction of additional interceptor and collection lines.  The Authority’s practice has been to require developers to construct wastewater collection lines and any pumping stations required to connect their developments to the Authority’s sewer lines and to transfer ownership of the pumping stations and collection lines to the Authority after completion.  The Authority does not have any current plans to issue debt following the issuance of the Bonds to finance additional capital improvements to its system.

The Water System

Horsham’s existing water system obtains water via a subsurface supply withdrawn from 15 strategically located wells throughout the Township.  Treatment is limited to chlorine disinfections at all supplies, with supplemental aeration at five supplies, prior to entry into the Authority’s some 103 miles of its distribution system.  Five elevated water storage tanks provide the Township with pressure equalization, fire reserve, and emergency standby storage.  The five tanks have a capacity of 4,250,000 gallons.  The Authority has a water customer base of 7042-metered connections, of which approximately 6,500 are residential units.  During the year 2002, the system delivered over 900 million gallons of water to its customers.