SUN-GAZETTE FILE PHOTO

An update on the Greater Williamsport Levee Project was provided to Lycoming County commissioners, two of whom responded with their own perspective.

Kelsey Green, Lycoming County Hazard Reduction Planner with the Department of Planning and Community Development, briefed commissioners Scott Metzger, Marc C. Sortman and Mark Mussina about the impending work. Metzger and Sortman had remarks following Green’s briefing at the public meeting.

“The county expects to begin the work on the 23 cross pipes and that is the Phase II of the Economic Development Administration (EDA) money,” she said.

Levee cross pipes are structures that allow water to flow through levees. They help manage water levels on both sides of the levee. These pipes can prevent flooding by controlling excess water flow. They are often equipped with gates or valves for regulation. Cross pipes are crucial for maintaining levee integrity and safety.

The commissioners were thrilled to hear the work could begin as early as a few weeks.

“Probably the second week of July we will get out there and start the inspections … to start those pipe rehabs,” Green said.

The Semi Quantitative Risk Assessment (SQRA) done by the Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) has been completed, and signed off on by everybody, she said.

The ACE previously told members of the city government the SQRA was (simply put) needed to identify potential failure and determine a mitigation process if there are any failures. “We’re making progress to get the feasibility study started so that we can address the deficiencies that were identified and go about that the best way possible,” Green said.

She identified there has been a “great team working on this rehab project lately,” and “happy to be able to partner with the city (City of Williamsport) and work with them.”

The partners at the state and federal levels said they are going to continue moving this forward and, hopefully, the project will see “real progress here in the short term.”

“Great news,” Metzger said. “It’s been a long time coming. It’s nice to see things are finally coming together where we can see actual work in the field and progress being made.”

“I’m very excited to break ground on these cross pipes,” Green added. “It’s been a very long time.”

Metzger offered kudos to Green. “I want to thank you for taking this over,” he said, adding that since that time it has been “light years ahead of what it was.”

“I do appreciate what Kelsey has done,” Sortman said. “One of the things the three of us heard on the last election campaign was ‘levee, levee, levee, why is nothing being done?'”

Sortman acknowledged there were necessary changes within the planning department to see further progress done on the levee recertification and accreditation process.

“We can say finally there will be shovels in the ground by this summer,” Sortman said.

Metzger also thanked (Congressman Meuser) U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Dallas; and U.S. Senators Dave McCormick, R-Pittsburgh and John Fetterman, D-Braddock.

“Those offices have been instrumental in helping us put pressure on these agencies,” Metzger said. “It seems like we call them and the next day we get results. So it is not falling on deaf ears down in Washington (D.C).”

The federal legislators and staff have been “very instrumental in helping the project move in the right direction, and continue to help us move forward,” he said.

City administration and Mayor Derek Slaughter also were interviewed about the levee recertification and accreditation progress and the Sun-Gazette will have a story describing the updates.