Middlesex Township

MIDDLESEX TWP — The township may soon be bringing public water service to more homes by extending its water line from Route 8 along Browns Hill Road to the township’s municipal building.

According to Matt Sebastian of engineering firm Herbert, Rowland & Grubic, the idea for extending the water line has been “kicking around for a couple of years.”

A preliminary cost estimate prepared by the engineers states that the expansion project would cost just over $400,000 for about 1,600 feet of water pipe. Just over $16,000 is earmarked for design alone.

No action was taken on the proposal at a meeting Wednesday, May 7. According to township manager Jeffrey Winkle, there are still some unanswered questions about how the expansion would pan out if it goes ahead.

“There are some questions we want answered first, such as confirming the size of the pipe and whether the township receives any reimbursement costs once the line is installed for future tappings,” Winkle said.

At least 25 households are in the path of where the proposed water line expansion would go.

“We actually may give some homeowners the opportunity to tie into a public water line, so it could be an advantage,” Winkle said. “We have a lot of properties on wells.”

Public water would be provided by the Municipal Water Authority of Adams Township, which services parts of Middlesex, Forward, and Cranberry townships, along with all of Adams Township and Callery.