A Great Place to Live, Work and Play

The Borough of Orwigsburg is small town America. One of our major strengths as a community is our small-town charm in a fast-paced environment. With only 3106 residents, many families have known each other for generations. The local economy is strong, and local crime is low. Infrastructure is maintained and operational with a proximity of a roads network to PA Route 61, Interstate 78 and Interstate 81. 

Orwigsburg is a great Pennsylvania community. It has a strong and dedicated workforce, the residents are caring and supportive of each other, and it seems that even Father Time moves at a more relaxed pace.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Welcome to 2025.  Happy New Year! We are looking forward to many great things in our borough. I wanted to provide you with an update on a few projects which will continue or start in the New Year.

Orwigsburg Veterans Memorial Building and Complex – as this multi-year project continues to move forward, a couple of key portions will advance this year.  1. In partnership with Blue Mountain Area Baseball Organization (Orwigsburg Little League) you will see the addition of an indoor batting cage/practice area adjacent to  Benner Field.  This facility will provide a climate-controlled practice area for our young athletes. 2.  A “Rain Garden” will be added to the rear portion of the property to help control water runoff as well as helping control water flowing onto adjacent properties.   3. Work continues on the Veteran’s Foyer.  You will see the addition of furnishings for the Veterans Office as well as new display cases.  These cases will be utilized to display memorabilia from our own community Veterans.  Watch for more updates as the Task Force and Borough work together on the completion of this important community asset.

West Market Street Flood Control Project – at the end of 2024, we completed the demolition of two homes on West Market Street for a flood control project.  Orwigsburg, like many communities, allowed home construction to occur over streams/drainage areas (years ago).  This practice resulted in basement flooding due to restricted water flow through these areas.  Our goal with this project is to mitigate basement flooding by increasing the flow when rains cause the water levels to rise. (you may recall a similar project from a few years ago on Long Avenue).  When the project is complete and in accordance with the grant requirements, the demolished area will remain “Green Space” in perpetuity. 

Center Square – the borough has received grant funding to begin to re-vitalize the curbing and the sidewalks in the center of town.  While the grant is not enough to do all the sidewalks and curbing it will allow us to address some of the concerns in this area.  In addition, the OABPA (Business Association) has received a donation to revitalize the trees/flowers and plantings on the downtown islands.  Together, we will work to revitalize our beautiful downtown.  Watch for more updates as the projects move forward.  “Orwigsburg Happenings” will be a great place to keep up to date on this and other projects/events in our borough.

Lead Service Line Inventory – You will recall receiving a letter from the borough (sent to all our water customers) related to determining if your water supply line (to your home or business) is copper, lead or galvanized.  Watch for additional information/requirements in 2025 as this work continues.  This is a PaDEP requirement (to compile this inventory).  As we receive additional information from PaDEP we will share it with you.

Road Work – 2024 saw a significant amount of road work happening in Orwigsburg.  We were able to re-pave Ridge Road, Eisenhower Drive and North Warren Streets.  Additionally, our borough crew used over 160 tons of hot patch to repair multiple streets.  We are already thinking ahead to Spring and the additional road work to be completed.  We hope to be able to perform as much if not more road repairs depending on availability of resources.

Water – 2024 was a challenging year with very low precipitation.  The team has been working diligently to manage the water levels in our three wells.  This occurs by switching wells to allow each to recover their depth while not in use.  The low levels did cause a higher mineral content in our Well #1 and resulted in water discoloration.  Our team, along with our consultant and PaDEP were able to mitigate the issue within 24 hours.  While we hope this does not re-occur, we ask for your patience if it does.  We will continue to need to alter our well utilization on frequent intervals until our drought situation improves.  If the high mineral content does re-occur, please be assured we will address it immediately.

Winter – the borough has an ample supply of salt, and our crew is ready to address winter weather.  Please remember not to throw snow from your sidewalks onto the street.  This causes “slick spots” which could result in an accident. Snow from your sidewalks should be placed in your yard where it will melt.

Safety – when crossing borough streets, please remember to do so at a corner.  Crossing between cars is a significant safety risk.  This includes the center of town.  If you park on Market Street (between Wayne and Liberty) go to a corner to cross.  I have seen many people cutting across the islands.  This creates a dangerous situation for both the person crossing and the driver.

I hope each of you had a very happy holiday season and that 2025 brings you blessing and good health.

Bill Reppy, Borough Manager

On December 14th members of Orwigsburg Cub Scout Pack 624, Girl Scout Troop 3272, and Trail Life Troop 2301 will be honoring the deceased veterans of the Orwigsburg area by participating in a nationwide day of remembrance with "Wreaths Across America". Their goal is to receive 392 sponsorships so that a wreath can be placed on the grave of each veteran in the cemeteries of St. John’s, St. Paul’s, Kimmel’s, and Salem Church. They request the community's support in this effort by sponsoring wreaths.

Please visit wreathsacrossamerica.org/pa0844 to donate. For every two wreaths sponsored, a third one will be provided free.

DEP Acting Secretary Jessica Shirley on behalf of Governor Josh Shapiro has issued a Drought Warning for Schuylkill and Berks Counties. In a drought warning, we should be seeking to reduce water use by about 10-15% through voluntary conservation measures. See below for water conservation tips.

Orwigsburg Borough Council passed Ordinance 462 at their June meeting. This ordinance addressed the speed limit within the borough, lowering it to 25 MPH. New speed limit signs, signifying the reduced speed limit, are now in place throughout the borough. For the safety of all of citizens and guest please follow the posted speed limit signs.

Water Conservation Tips:

Please use water wisely and reduce your water usage by 10 to 15%

- Car Wash - Avoid washing your car at home is a great way to save water. If your car needs a bath, going to our car wash will accomplish both - save water and a clean car. Car washes use less water than a "driveway" wash

- Run the Dishwasher and washing machine less often

- Water your garden in the cooler evening or morning hours

- Water your lawn only if necessary

- Check for and repair household leaks

- Set up a rain barrel to be ready to repurpose rain when it does fall

Learn more at www.dep.pa.gov/drought or https://www.epa.gov/watersense/start-saving 

Sanitary Sewer: Things you always wanted to know but never asked.

We all have questions about our sewer system, but never ask. We are hoping to share some helpful facts about one of our most important resources.

A sanitary sewer building lateral is the extension from the building sewer outside the inner face of the building wall and extending to the public sewer or other place of disposal. The building lateral belongs to the owner of the property, making it the homeowner’s responsibility to maintain. When a home is constructed, the builders must connect the building lateral to the sewer main which is known as “tapping”. The process of tapping also has an associated fee which is meant to pay for and secure a portion or share of the sewage and/or water capacity needed in the collection, conveyance, and treatment facilities. It is considered a “buy in” to the sanitary sewer system and payment for facility costs not funded by user rates.

The Borough receives several calls annually about sewage back-ups into property owner’s homes. The most common reason for these back-ups can be traced to tree-roots. Roots of plants, shrubs, etc. will seek out a water source, particularly in dry weather, and in many cases will intrude into the building lateral. Significant tree root intrusions can cause sewer back-ups on your property as well as blockages in the Borough’s sewer mains. The Borough maintains these sewer mains, but the building laterals are the homeowner’s responsibility. It is a common misconception that the property owner’s responsibility ends at the house/building trap (a device fitting normally found up to 5 feet outside the inner face of the building wall that prevents circulation of air and/or noxious gases from the building sewer to the building drain). However, this is not the case as the homeowner’s responsibility is on both sides of the trap and extending out to the property line.

Many homes in the Borough have building laterals made of tera-cotta (or vitrified clay) pipes. Tera-cotta was a very common industry standard pipe component used during the time of installation for the Borough’s sanitary sewer system. These pipes, by their very nature, have joints that over time can allow easy access for roots to enter and grow into the pipe. Once the roots enter and become established the “root-balls” grow as more and more water and nutrients are absorbed. Almost anything flushed down a toilet, or disposed of down a sink, can get hung up leading to a clog that could force sewage back into the home.

To prevent these potential clogs from happening there are several items that should never be disposed of down a sink or toilet including tissues, paper towels, sanitary napkins and tampons, baby wipes, personal hygiene wipes, etc. In addition, never pour oil or grease down the sink. While it may go down the drain as a liquid, this grease will thicken and harden as soon as it encounters the cold pipes underground This hardened grease will adhere to the inner walls of your building lateral causing a restriction in flow which could also lead to sewer back-ups.

There are times when the Borough discovers large quantities of grease in the sewer main. This build-up can cause numerous issues within the Borough’s sewage collection system. To help combat this issue, commercial establishments in the Borough are required to install and maintain grease traps. Residents are also asked to do their part to prevent blockages and encouraged not to pour oils and greases down the drain.

Tori Morgan, LO 

Director of Funding, Regulatory Relations & Compliance Entech Engineering

2025 Budgets

2025-01 General Fund Budget Draft.pdf

2025-03 Fire Fund Budget Draft.pdf

2025-04 Recreation Fund Budget Draft.pdf

2025-06 Water Fund Budget Draft.pdf

2025-08 Sewer Fund Budget Draft.pdf

2025-09 Sanitation Fund Budget Draft.pdf

Trash & Recycling Issues

The hauler has changed to Anthracite Waste Management.

The days for pick-up have remained the same except a small portion of Market Street.