The Moose Creek Reservoir Dam, like many other dams in the area, such as the Cold Stream Dam in Philipsburg and DuBois' Anderson Creek Dam, needs to have its spillway upgraded to meet new state Department of Environmental Protection regulations.

The stricter standards came about when the National Weather Service revised its calculations and adjusted upward its estimate for the highest possible rainfall the area could get. DEP bases requirements for dams on this rainfall calculation, Mr. Glenn said.

To meet the new DEP regulations, the Montgomery Run Dam must be able to handle 35 inches of rainfall in a 72-hour period. Currently the dam can only handle 23 percent of this flow, according to Mr. Glenn.

In addition, Mr. Glenn said the original dam was constructed in 1902 and was expanded in 1959-60, putting the age of the dam between 50-100 years old depending on the section. Mr. Glenn said the dam can still last for many more years but parts of it will need to be improved because they are nearing the end of their useful lifespan.

To meet the requirements, a new, larger spillway will need to be constructed at the reservoir as well as an overflow spillway in case of high rain events. CMA will also have to armor the dam with roller compacted concrete to prevent erosion; these improvements are estimated to cost $5.92 million, Mr. Glenn said.

In addition to these improvements, Mr. Glenn said there are three pipes, two 24-inch-diameter intake pipes and a 36-inch drainage pipe under the dam, which are a part of the original dam built in 1902. DEP has long been after CMA to upgrade the pipes and install additional control valves on them so they could be shut off at the dam in case they leak. If the pipes were to crack and leak, the escaping water could erode away the base of the dam and cause it to fail, Mr. Glenn said. Currently CMA's shutoff valves for the pipes are downstream from the dam and not at the dam itself.

CMA could not do the necessary upgrades because the entire dam would have to be taken off-line to do it, which would leave Clearfield without water because it is Clearfield's main source of water.

But, since the dam will have to be taken off-line anyway, DEP is requiring that the pipes be upgraded.

To meet these requirements CMA will have to construct a new intake tower and install new control valves on the pipes at a cost of $1.415 million.

The good news is that DEP has not set a deadline when the project needs to be completed, and Mr. Glenn said the project should be placed on CMA's long-term plan, with its completion in five to 15 years whenever funding becomes available.

In addition, CMA will not be able to start the project until the Moose Creek Reservoir is brought back on line in 2010 to provide a source of water for Clearfield when Montgomery Run Dam is out of service for the upgrades.

According to CMA Manager Jeff Williams, CMA uses approximately 1.1 million gallons of drinking water per day and once the Moose Creek Reservoir is completed it will be able to produce 500,000 gallons of water per day under most conditions and up to 1 million gallons of water per day under ideal conditions.

So, unless there is an extreme dry period when the Montgomery Dam is off-line, CMA should be able to scrape by with the combination of the Moose Creek Reservoir, the Moose Creek Well No. 3 and the backup wells at the Montgomery Run Reservoir, Mr. Williams said.

CMA voted to send the report to DEP and inform it of its plans for the Montgomery Run Reservoir.

CMA is currently in the process of constructing a new filtration plant to bring the Moose Creek Reservoir back on line at a cost of approximately $6 million. CMA is planning to open bids on the project on June 10 with construction lasting approximately 18 months, according to Mr. Glenn.

CMA received a $3 million low-interest loan from the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority, and Mr. Glenn said CMA will likely have to finance the remaining portion with a bank loan.

Mr. Williams said CMA will likely structure the loan so the larger payments would start after 2012 when much of CMA's current debt is expired, to minimize the effect of the new debt on CMA's finances.