Montco 2040:
a shared vision
33
■■ Number and type of
upgraded sewage systems
Measuring success
… advocate with sewer authorities, the state
residents,
and local municipalities to upgrade municipal sewage collection systems and treatment plants in
the most environmentally-friendly way
Sewer service expansions and sewer system upgrades are regulated by plans produced under the
These plans are reviewed by the state Department of Environmental Protection and the Montgomery
County Planning Commission. The Montgomery County Health Department is responsible for evaluating, permitting, and
inspecting any on-lot sewage proposals.
Many of the county’s sewage plants and sewer lines are getting old and will need to be upgraded. When upgrades occurs, inflow and
infiltration should be reduced, storm sewers and sanitary sewers should be separated, if they are combined, and ozone or ultraviolet light
disinfection should be considered. In addition, if sewage sludge is currently being incinerated, authorities should consider composting as an
alternative.
In Rural Resource Areas where on-lot sewage disposal will be used, the preferred approach is subsurface disposal, which allows
water to percolate back into the water table. Other preferred alternatives, in descending order of preference, include individual
residential spray irrigation systems, community lagoon system with spray discharge, community lagoon system with subsurface
discharge, and community sand mound. Mechanical treatment and/or direct stream discharge are less preferred alternatives,
because they may encourage development at higher densities.
¯
Pottstown
Norristown
Lansdale
Collegeville
Jenkintown
Conshohocken
§¨
¦
476
§¨
¦
276
§¨
¦
76
§¨
¦
476
£
¤
422
£
¤
202
611
100
309
Hatboro
Ambler
Pennsburg
73
663
29
29
73
Existing Public Sewer Service
Future Public Sewer Service
Conservation Areas and Preserved Farmland
Areas Without Future Public Sewer Service
Note: Mapping based, in part, upon 2010 Land Use Information
EXISTING AND FUTURE SEWER SERVICE AREAS
