Officials celebrate rehabilitated dam

A rehabilitated dam near South Williamsport will not only protect a pristine source of water in a reservoir on a private watershed, but also prevent future hazardous flood risk for communities downstream of Hagerman's Run.

When a large gathering of officials this week were shuttled to or walked down a path to the Frank E. Heller Dam Spillway, then swatted swarms of black flies awaiting a news conference to celebrate the years of rehabilitation done under oversight of the Williamsport Municipal Water Authority, they went there with an expressed purpose.

Not many people are familiar with the two most important parts of providing municipal water for an estimated 51,000 individuals. Those include treatment, but more vital continuing to supply a pristine source of water supply.

Where the visitors stood Thursday afternoon was a scene that could be painted by an artist. It is 10,053 acres of private watershed that is owned by the municipal water authority.

Looking out over a reservoir that contains 530 million gallons of water when at its capacity, or using over 5 million gallons a day, those observing could detect how the banks on its perimeter seemed a bit dry.

That is because the reservoir was drained down for the construction on the dam spillway, bringing the water volume to 75 % of that 530 million gallons or 395 million gallons, said Michael D. Miller, authority executive director, who also is director of the Williamsport Sanitary Authority, a joint operating body with the water authority and its board – also present at the ceremony.

For those who had visited the old spillway, to get there would have required walking on a small and precarious catwalk, with walls tilting inward.

Further, to get out to the tower and infrastructure required driving a vehicle through a small causeway in the reservoir.

"We thought, 'Oh, we've got to get this fixed,'" Miller said.

Help of Keller Partners and Congress

With the assistance of Keller Partners, a Washington, D.C.-based consulting firm that works closely with the legislature in the capital, and former U.S. Rep. Fred Keller, R-Kreamer, a district now served by U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Dallas, the authority identified the High Hazard Potential Dam Grant Program, which is a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) program that passes through Pennsylvania through the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA).

The authority has full support of Randy Padfield, PEMA director, and Jill Whitcomb, deputy secretary of the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and federal support from U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Braddock, Meuser, and state legislative support from Reps. Jamie Flick, R-South Williamsport, Joe Hamm, R-Hepburn Township, and Sen. Gene Yaw, R-Loyalsock Township. The engineers, dam safety personnel, volunteer authority board and authority staff also contributed mightily to the success of the project and kept Miller on track to complete the project.