The Evans City Sewer and Water Authority is preparing to move forward with a $2.1 million project to replace an aging sewage pump station in Callery, authority Chairman Ed Tanski said.

The project will be financed through a $1.3 million Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority loan and a separate grant package worth $666,000. The loan will be financed over a 30-year period, Tanski said.

“The old pump station was in a flood plain and every time the creeks rose it would get flooded out,” Tanski said. “It’s also a really old system — probably built in the 1950s.”

Evans City agreed to cosign the PennVest loan on behalf of the authority as a good-faith guarantor. Callery, however, declined to sign, which Tanski said required extra paperwork and prompted a legal review by state officials before the agency approved the arrangement.

The loan closing is expected in mid-December after which funds will be released on a reimbursement basis as work progresses. Bids for the general and electrical contractors have already been received. Awards are anticipated around the same time as the loan closing, Tanski said.

Construction on the new station is anticipated to take about 18 months depending on material availability and will likely extend well into 2027.

The new pump station will serve roughly 200 homes and businesses, both in Callery and in surrounding areas covered under the authority’s Act 537 service plan, which also includes portions of Forward and Jackson townships.

To help repay the loan, the authority plans to initiate a minor rate increase. Tanski noted a rate study will be conducted later. The authority had previously maintained a savings plan for Callery’s system following its acquisition of the borough’s sewer assets decades ago.

“We’re in the final stages of finalizing everything,” Tanski said. “If all goes well, we should have this closed up by the end of the year and be ready to move forward.”