Pennsylvania American Water moved up the replacement of a water main along North Washington Avenue in downtown Scranton that broke twice in 10 days this July.
“The project has been advanced to accelerate infrastructure improvements and represents another step in Pennsylvania American Water’s (PAW) ongoing commitment to modernizing Scranton’s water system,” according to the company.
The replacement project will cost $5 million and is expected to begin in Spring 2027, according to the water company. It was originally planned for 2028.
The improvements will be along North Washington Avenue between Lackawanna Avenue and Gibson Street. And along Mulberry Street between North Washington Avenue and Madison Avenue. A 156-year-old 24-inch cast iron water main along with 6-inch water mains will be replaced with a new 16-inch water main.
The repairs come at a time when the company has been asking regulators for rate increases to maintain its system.
Pennsylvania American Water asked the Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission for higher water rates to spend up to $1.2 billion upgrading its distribution system by June 30, 2027. Without higher rates, the company won’t make enough profit for upgrades, its request said.
The state Public Utility Commission voted 4 to 1 in July to approve an increase substantially lower than what the company sought for upgrades and a fair financial profit.
'We must have reliable infrastructure'
The first break happened at the intersection of North Washington Avenue and Mulberry Street near Scranton's City Hall on July 17. Along with the downtown residents and businesses, both City Hall and the Lackawanna County Government Center were without water and shut down. The second break happened July 27 on Washington Avenue between the Lackawanna County Courthouse and the federal courthouse. Again, people and places were without water.
Pennsylvania American Water crews responded to both breaks immediately.
Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti and Scranton City Council members held a press conference a day after the second break to urge the water company to replace the main sooner, rather than later.
"Accelerating this $5 million investment is an important step forward for our downtown and for the businesses, workers, and residents hit hard by these breaks,” Cognetti said. “We must have reliable infrastructure and the peace of mind that we’re doing everything we can to prevent this from happening again.”
The city also set up an online resource to calculate the cost the breaks caused businesses and residents to help find funding for those impacted.
Replacement comes with a donation
The water company operates approximately 300 miles of water mains in Scranton. About 49 miles — or 16% — were installed before 1900. The utility replaces 5 to 10 miles of aging pipe annually.
PAW says the replacement project is in the engineering and design phase and that customers may notice preliminary project activity in the city’s downtown.
“To minimize impacts and maintain access to businesses, work will be completed in phases and coordinated with the city’s downtown streetscape improvements,” PAW says.
According to the city, downtown streetscape projects funded by the American Rescue Plan Act will mostly be complete by the end of September, which is in compliance with ARPA spending guidelines. Work funded by other sources will continue into Spring 2027.
Pennsylvania American Water plans to also support downtown revitalization through a proposed $50,000 American Water Charitable Foundation grant to Scranton Tomorrow.
The grant will support the nonprofit’s Safe, Clean & Green Program, which advances neighborhood revitalization, environmental stewardship and community engagement across Scranton.
