Property owners along Route 8 from the intersection at Overbrook Road in Middlesex Township north to Larchwood Drive in Penn Township will soon have the opportunity to tap into a public water source.

Matthew Cranmer, manager of the Municipal Water Authority of Adams Township, said 38,000 feet of water line will be installed on that stretch of Route 8 as well as down Airport Road to the Pittsburgh-Butler Regional Airport in the $5.2 million project.

Those along Airport Road also will be able to tap in, he said.

He said property owners not along the new water lines will not be offered a tap unless the water authority is working with a developer to bring water to a new development near their properties.

Because neither Middlesex Township nor Penn Township has a mandatory tap-in ordinance, no property owners will be required to tap into the water system.

In addition to providing public water to properties adjacent to the new lines, the plan will offer fire hydrants.

“It will provide public fire protection in an area that doesn't have it currently,” Cranmer said.

He said all properties in the project area now rely on wells for water service.

“We expect a lot of businesses along there to tap in,” Cranmer said.

Ike Kelly, manager at the Pittsburgh-Butler Regional Airport, said he is thrilled that public water is coming to the airport.The facility operates using eight wells.“With our volume of usage, the wells can drop off pretty fast as far as water pressure,” Kelly said.He said public water will allow the airport to expand and build larger hangers, which aircraft owners expect to include a sprinkler system.Also, planes landing on runways that use a sodium-based ice melt product in the winter must wash the substance off as quickly as possible.“We could do that, and it would be nice to have high pressure,” Kelly said.Public water service also would benefit the restaurant at the airport, which can suffer from low pressure at times, Kelly said.“As the airport has been growing in use, municipal water would definitely be much better,” he said.He said all property owners on Airport Road would be offered a tap-in, which costs $2,650.“I'm going to assume a lot of residents on Airport Road would be customers of theirs,” Kelly said, naming the Penn Township Volunteer Fire Company, Penn Christian Academy and Succop Nature Park as potential users of the service.Cranmer said the project is slated to begin late next month or in early May, and will take about nine months.

Kim Geyer, a county commissioner and board member at the airport, said adding public water at the airport could lead to expansion.“It could position the airport facility to expand and work toward a potential corporate air park,” Geyer said.She said the airport is at almost 99% hangar capacity. “To develop new hangars, we need to have public water for fire service,” Geyer said.She said the water authority is using the county infrastructure bank to finance the project, and Middlesex Township supervisors have pledged $500,000 toward laying the lines.“We asked Penn Township to see if they are interested in contributing toward the project, but at this time they have declined,” Geyer said.She said 200 properties along the project will have the opportunity to tap in.“It's a real game-changer,” Geyer said. “It's a collaboration between the airport authority, the county, the water authority and Middlesex Township, all working together, and the county is very appreciative of that.”