CONNOQUENESSING TWP — There has been little response to the Butler County Housing and Redevelopment Authority’s Woodlands cistern program.

Perry O’Malley, the executive director of the authority, said there has been one application for the Woodlands Demonstration Cistern Pilot Program, which will install 500 to 1,000 gallon cisterns at the homes of qualifying low-to-moderate income families.

The program started in September as a way to help families in need of clean water.

“We never anticipated an overwhelming response,” O’Malley said.

The authority has been in contact with other residents, but O’Malley said some have hit road blocks.

“The biggest challenge people are having concerns property ownership and taxes,” O’Malley said.

Under the program, applicants must be the owner of the home seeking to receive a cistern and that home must be the owner’s primary residence.

Applicants also must submit tax information.

While the program has had a sluggish start, O’Malley said the authority will continue it.

“We’re going to continue to offer them to those in need,” he said. “We think it’s a good solution to the water problem.”

O’Malley said the authority has mailed out brochures on the program, posted fliers and spoken with some residents.

O’Malley originally estimated 25 houses would be eligible for the program. The authority would allocate up to $5,000 to each home to install the underground cistern and necessary plumbing.

There has been controversy in the Woodlands in the past couple years regarding the residents’ water. Many residents claim natural gas drilling by Rex Energy has caused their water to go bad.

A study done by the state Department of Environmental Protection has found the drilling has not affected the Woodlands’ water.

More than 30 families get their drinking water from a voluntary water bank at the White Oak Springs Presbyterian Church on Shannon Road.

There is no timetable for when the first tank could be installed, should the application be approved.