Council Approves Water Agreement with E. Allen

City Council unanimously approved an agreement with East Allen Township for the city to become the exclusive water provider for the township on Tuesday night.

Under the terms of the agreement Bethlehem would assume ownership of East Allen Township’s water distribution system, which is mostly supplied by Bethlehem water anyway in a bulk purchase agreement.

The key to the agreement for the city is access to a growing customer base emerging in the Route 512 corridor, where housing and commercial development is in the planning stages.

According to David L. Brong, the city’s director of water and sewer resources, Bethlehem’s water system only operates at 50 percent of its capacity.

East Allen Township, meanwhile, was looking to get out of the public utility business. During of council’s Finance and Public Works committees, township officials said that the cost of maintaining the system is not a good bargain for township residents.

Township residents will see a decrease in water bills as a result of the agreement, while the city will see an increase in water revenue in the first year even though it will assume $250,000 in long-term debt that currently belongs to the East Allen Township Municipal Authority.