'Hydration station' coming to Great Allegheny Passage Boston trailhead

Riders and walkers on the Great Allegheny Passage will have a new place to take a water break next year, as a “hydration station” is being installed at the Boston trailhead in Elizabeth.

The work is funded through a $19,000 grant from Pennsylvania American Water to the Mon/Yough Trail Council, which maintains the trail between McKeesport and the Westmoreland County line.

The station will feature a water fountain, bottle filler and cleaning hose attachment.

“Particularly this year, with the covid stuff, trail use has just gone through the ceiling,” said Mark Place, president of the Mon/Yough Trail Council. “People come out unprepared, they’re used to just going to a fountain, so having access to clean water is a big deal,” he said.

There are about 70,000 visits to that section of trail ever year.

Most water fountains in the Boston area are located off the trail and might be tricky to find for those not familiar with the area, Place said. The new fountain will be located alongside the trail.

Workers started laying the water lines Oct. 8. The fountain will be installed next spring —as a pending sewer project in Elizabeth will shut down about nine miles of trail, likely beginning this fall and lasting into next year, Place said.

Plans for a fountain have been in the works for a while as the council and Pennsylvania American Water discussed grant funding.

“We said, ‘what’s a fountain cost these days?’” Place said. “Truthfully, I was astounded.”

The finished fountain will be 400 pounds, made of stainless steel and resistant to vandals and frost.

“It bears no resemblance to what you walk by in your grade school or your office building,” Place said.

American Water Charitable Foundation has an annual Keep Communities Flowing grant program to fund water-related projects in communities served by the utility company.

The fountain project was one of 12 grant recipients this year, and the only recipient in Pennsylvania.

“We are proud to offer these types of funding opportunities to further American Water’s ongoing commitment to being good neighbor and steward of the environment,” foundation President Carrie Williams said in a statement.

Usage of the 150-mile Great Allegheny Passage — which connects Pittsburgh and Cumberland, Md., and includes 10.5 miles through Westmoreland County — has increased by about a third this year as people look for safe outdoor activities during the coronavirus pandemic, according to Bryan Perry, executive director of the Allegheny Trail Alliance.

The water fountain is one of several improvement projects in the works along the trail, Perry said.

The Homestead-based Steel Valley Trail Council is building a tool and equipment shed near Kennywood that will make trail maintenance easier. Nine miles of trail near Ohiopyle were resurfaced this year, and a new campground is in the works at Ohiopyle State Park to service trail users.

“It’s a significant upgrade to one of the oldest sections of the Great Allegheny Passage, and one of the most heavily used,” Perry said.

The Elizabeth Township sewer project will see pipes installed under the trail, which means the affected nine-mile section will be resurfaced before reopening.