Wastewater & Water Plant Laboratory

The primary function of the Wastewater Plant Laboratory is to ensure that all discharges from the Carlisle Regional Water Pollution Control facility meet all applicable Federal and State standards.  The lab technicians strive to surpass the governmental standards by monitoring pollutants to ensure the protection of the environment in a cost-effective manner. Through daily analysis of samples, the laboratory is able to make recommendations to ensure proper operational control at the wastewater plant.

Another major function of the Wastewater Plant Lab is permitting, inspecting, and sampling significant industrial users of the sewer system to ascertain that the wastewater discharge meets local discharge pretreatment limits. These limits and their enforcement protect the treatment process, increase worker safety, maintain agricultural utilization of the sewage sludge or biosolids, and protect the quality of Letort Spring Run, Conodoquinet Creek and other downstream waterways. The major customers for the Borough of Carlisle include industries and institutions such as Frog Switch, Carlisle Syntec Systems, Hoffman Materials, Orograin Bakeries Manufacturing, Giant Foods, and Dickinson College among others.

The lab facilities have allowed staff to perform analyses in a safe and efficient manner, which has enabled the Borough to meet all effluent and biosolids permit parameters on a consistent basis. The lab generates revenue through the collection of permit fees, fines, surcharges and monitoring costs from various industries, commercial establishments and other treatment plants throughout the service area. This revenue helps to reduce residential sewer rates by directing any additional treatment costs to the facilities generating those costs.

The primary function of the Water Treatment Laboratory is to ensure that drinking water produced at the Water Treatment Plant meets or exceeds established Federal and State standards for quality and potability. Microbiological and inorganic chemical analyses are performed regularly on water treated at the plant and in the distribution system to ensure a safe water supply.

The laboratory also provides certified drinking water and wastewater testing on a fee basis for a number of other public water supplies and wastewater dischargers throughout central Pennsylvania. Finally, the lab serves the public of Cumberland, Dauphin, Perry, Juniata and Franklin counties with private well testing services for a number of drinking water contaminants. The laboratory continues to maintain its certified status to conduct microbiological testing of drinking water and chemical and microbiological of wastewater despite rigorous mandates from regulatory agencies. The testing performed for clients other than the Borough generates revenue which helps to offset the operating costs of the lab.

The laboratory is located at the Carlisle Region Water Pollution Control Facility at 54 North Middlesex Road, Carlisle PA 17013. Questions concerning water or wastewater testing can be addressed by calling the Laboratory Supervisor at 717-240-6991 or the general lab number at 717-240-6995 Monday through Friday from 7:00 AM – 3:30 PM.

Carlisle Borough Committed to Excellence in Community Service
Carlisle Borough 53 West South Street 717-249-4422 Mon-Fri: 7:30am - 4:30pm