JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – A $22 million loan will enable Greater Johnstown Water Authority to add a new spillway and other updates at North Fork Reservoir to mitigate the risk of major flooding.
And separately, more than $8 million in support from the state’s infrastructure authority will enable Scalp Level to add new sewer lines and adapt older ones to reduce stormwater flows.
North Fork
The Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority said Greater Johnstown Water Authority’s project was designed to ensure North Fork can manage ”a probable maximum flood event” expected from the most severe weather conditions reasonably possible in the area.
State Sen. Wayne Langerholc Jr., R-Richland Township, and state Rep. Frank Burns, D-East Taylor Township, issued the announcement in a joint media release Wednesday.
Needed upgrades include a rigid, erosion-resistant “roller- compacted concrete” spillway, a new crest wall, a spillway cap and auxiliary spillway training walls, they wrote.
Flood gates will also be added at the crest, along with other ancillary improvements to strengthen the reservoir’s overall flood resilience.
The Greater Johnstown Water Authority serves the City of Johnstown as part of 16 other municipalities in Cambria and Somerset counties.
Efforts to upgrade the dam have been in the planning stages for years, with North Fork Reservoir deemed a High Hazard Dam under state standards.
“Investing in critical water infrastructure upgrades is a matter of public safety, economic development and responsible stewardship,” Langerholc said.
“As a Board member of Penn- VEST, I’m pleased to see this funding support the replacement of outdated systems while ensuring local facilities meet modern standards without placing an undue burden on ratepayers.”
Burns said the low-interest loan secured to do the work will help “ease the burden of the project on ratepayers.”
The project won’t just increase North Fork’s reservoir capacity, he added.
“This low-interest loan will (also) increase reliability of the water supply” to North Fork’s service area, he added.
Scalp Level
PennVEST awarded a $5.1 million grant and a $3.3 million low-interest loan to the community to cover the stormwater project’s costs, Langerholc and state Rep. Jim Rigby, R-Ferndale, announced Wednesday.
“Undertaking vital safety upgrades to water and sewer infrastructure is key to safeguarding public health, promoting economic growth, and ensuring long-term sustainability,” Langerholc said.
Langerholc serves on the 13-member PennVEST board and said he was “pleased” to see a support package approved to modernize Scalp Level’s aging infrastructure, while addressing issues caused by excess stormwater.
As planned, 8,200 feet of new gravity sewer line will be installed for collection from Scalp Level residences.
“The existing sewer line will be converted to a stormwater line, and 1,876 feet of new stormwater line will be constructed to accommodate the flows that will be removed from the sanitary sewer system,” state lawmakers said in a media release.
“Sen. Langerholc and I are proud to have worked together to secure this much-needed funding for the borough and its residents,” Rigby added.
“The existing infrastructure has outlived its usefulness and is stressed beyond capacity during extreme wet weather events.”
Scalp Level’s sewer lines transport its flows from the borough toward Windber Area Authority’s Ingleside Sewage plant for treatment.
PennVEST is a financing authority that provides low-cost financial assistance to address water, wastewater and stormwater problems that impact public health, safety, the environment and regulatory compliance issues statewide.
Somerset
Dozens of other projects across the state also received funding.
The Municipal Authority of the Borough of Somerset received a $10,724,921 grant and a $7,975,079 loan to upgrade its sanitary sewer and stormwater systems.
The project includes the replacement or rehabilitation of approximately 41,650 feet of sanitary sewer piping and 195 sanitary sewer manholes, the installation or replacement of approximately 11,350 feet of stormwater pipe and 104 stormwater drainage inlets.
“These system upgrades are proposed in locations where illegal sanitary sewer connections are known to exist; illegal connections to the sanitary sewer system will be removed and connected to the storm water system,” PennVest officials wrote, noting the resulting work will reduce storm infiltration into Somerset’s system by at least 20%.
In doing so, that will lower the Somerset agency’s overflow related system operational and maintenance costs.
Clearfield project lands support
The Clearfield Municipal Authority will receive a $10.2 million low-interest loan and a $15.6 million grant from PennVEST to build a new treatment plant.
Clearfield Municipal Authority serves more than 5,000 customers across Clearfield Borough and nearby Lawrence Township.
Langerholc and state Rep, Dallas Kephart, R-Clearfield, said it’ll add a building equipped with a membrane filtration system and updated service pumps and additional components.