North Park Lake Restoration Complete

A two-year effort to pull sediment buildup from North Park Lake is drawing to a close.

The lake had been just two feet deep in some areas when Allegheny County and the Army Corps of Engineers began the dredging project in 2009.

Army Corps Project Manager Craig Carney says crews removed more than 300,000 cubic yards of sediment – enough to fill Heinz Field to 180 feet.

Carney says when the lake is refilled with water in about a month, it will be twice as deep as it was two years ago, ranging from five to twenty feet. He says the Fish and Boat Commission has started stocking the lake.

“They actually transferred some fish from Hereford Manor Lake, which is up in Beaver County, down about a month ago,” says Carney, “and they are going to start putting fingerlings in within the next month or two. And we’ll do a full stocking, I believe, next winter/springtime for trout.”

Carney says most of the sediment will remain within North Park, on a former strip mine site that will be transformed into a field. Sediment was also sent to a landfill in Evans City and to a site on Babcock Boulevard.

The deadline was extended about a month to allow the County time to construct a new boat-ramp in on the Irwin Run side of the lake.

A festival at the lake this Saturday will mark the completion of the project.

Dam Flow Reduced to Prevent Flooding of Lower Ohio River

In response to historically high water levels on the lower Ohio River, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) in Pittsburgh has made the decision to retain water behind its dams until flooding in Huntington, West Virginia begins to subside. As of this morning, the district reduced the dam flow from 47,000 to 10,000 cubic feet per second while using available flood storing capacity to hold excess water.

Jeff Hawk of the USACE Pittsburgh District says the water levels downstream have reached historic rates and every tenth of an inch of water downstream could be costly.

“We have one of our senior leaders down at ground zero down there and he is telling us that this is the highest water those levies have seen down there since they were constructed in the late 1920’s” Hawk says.

The Army Corps of Engineers is constantly monitoring the National Weather Service for the potential of more rain, and Hawk explains that these high water levels may take a while to subside.

“This is our wet period. The weather service tells us we’re in a pattern of storms that just keeps cycling through,” Hawk says. “Typically we start to get dryer at this point and we’re struggling at some lakes to reach what we call our summer pool. So yeah, this is unusual. If this cycle of storms continues then we’ll have to continue dealing with high water.”

Hawk says our region can handle the extra water to help those downstream, but many local recreational areas may experience flooding so visitors should call before making a trip.

Federal Budget to Blame for Closing of Two Locks

Recreational boaters will no longer be able to access service to Locks 9 and 8 (Rimer and Templeton) along the Allegheny River. The two locks will be closed along with elimination of 24 hour service to Lock 2 near the Highland Park Bridge and Lock 4 in Natona. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was forced to close the locks after their budget for water navigation was cut to 4 million dollars, about 50% of their current allocation.

Richard Lockwood, Chief of Operations for the Pittsburgh division of the Corps , says that "Congress created the locks and only Congress can close them" in reference to the 2011-2012 federal budget prompting the cuts.

He says the Army Corps of Engineers worked with the community to compromise on which locks will close. "With the funding that is authorized for us for the Allegheny River, we actually went out and met with out commercial constituents, our commercial customers, our recreational customers, elected officials. We had a series of public meetings, and those conversations and those meetings shaped the plan that we're offering today."

Armstrong County Commissioner Richard Fink says that the locks provide tourism to the county and a loss of them would not be acceptable. "Theoretically what happens right now unless we can find a resolution in 8 and 9 locks, that turns into two lakes, two large lakes in the northern end of Armstrong County."

Fink says County Commissioners are trying to work out ways which would allow them to keeps locks open to recreational boaters and tourism.

The cuts to the locks are scheduled for October 1st when as many as 18 employees will be reassigned to other posts .

Reduced Funding for the Allegheny

The President's 2012 budget provides $76 million for the Army Corps of Engineers low use navigation projects -- last year it was $140 million. In the Pittsburgh region that reduction will hit the Allegheny River System the hardest, cutting funding from $8 million to $4 million. Army Corps spokesman Jeff Hawk says that's because the Allegheny is such a small player when it comes to commercial traffic, "One facility at Emsworth, which is the first lock on the Ohio River, locks approximately ten times as much cargo through its chambers each year than does the entire Allegheny River system." On average, the Allegheny contributes about 2.5 of the 630 million tons of cargo that travel the nation's inland waterways. Because of the funding cuts, the Army Corps is considering how to reduce service on the Allegheny; one option is to provide full service on Locks 2 and 4 with no recreational traffic lockages available at Locks 5-9. The other option is to reduce shifts and limit operating hours at the first three locks and provide limited recreational service at Locks 5-7, while Locks 8 and 9 would only serve commercial vessels by appointment. Hawk says recreational users will feel the brunt of the funding cuts, but he notes that the river system has plenty of benefits that never factor into the funding equation, "these pools are used for water supply for sanitary treatment and for drinking and hydro-power, they provide a stable pool for riverfront development, and they provide a sustained aquatic environment." Hawk says the rivers belong to the public and it's important they have a voice in what the river system looks like in the future.

The Army Corps will hold two public information sessions on the Allegheny River System:
February 22 at O'Hara Elementary School at 6 p.m. and February 24 at the West Kittanning Fire Department at 7 p.m.

Corps Closes Crumbling Lock Wall to Rec Boaters

Recreational boaters should expect delays this weekend near Allegheny River Lock and Dam 2. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says a severely deteriorated chamber wall poses a safety hazard to recreational boaters and will be closed off indefinitely. The lock itself remains open.

Terry Falcon, the corps' Allegheny River Operations Manager says a 180-ft concrete landwall section of the chamber is unusable and boaters will not be allowed to moor along it while traveling up and down the river during the facility's busiest weekend of the summer.

"We had a ten foot section of the lock wall fall into the chamber recently, and it just isn't safe. Boaters may be asked to raft off each other if they fill up all available mooring hooks on the usable portion. Otherwise, they'll have to wait for the next lockage."

The navigation facility is the gateway lock for those heading from Pittsburgh up the Allegheny River and for those venturing down the Allegheny to enjoy the city festivities.
Dave Sneberger, the district's navigation chief, says the Corps will close the entire Allegheny River for 21 days in mid-September to address critical backlog maintenance, though repairing the lock wall was not originally on the schedule. "We'll try to scare up some money and get it on the schedule, but it's not a definite."

Armstrong County Nuclear Cleanup Moves Forward

The Army Corps of Engineers will host a public meeting in Vandergrift Monday to discuss the next steps of the cleanup of radioactive soil in southern Armstrong County.

Corps spokesman Jeff Hawk says he expects and wants the public to ask tough questions about the disposal of nuclear waste in Apollo and Parks, where engineers have been testing the air, water, and soil for radiation.

Hawk says they won’t actually be removing any waste this summer – instead they’ll build a network of roads, a material handling building, a wastewater treatment structure, air and water monitors, and a new gas line. He says that’s all in preparation for the actual $76 million cleanup, beginning next year.

The two plants produced fuel for submarines and power plants from the 1950s to the 1980s.

Hawk says the Corps plans to ship the nuclear waste to a facility in Utah.

US Army Corps Ready For Rain and Snowmelt

The US Army Corps of Engineers says it has lowered the levels of all 16 of its reservoirs that feed into the upper Ohio River Basin, as it gets ready for the potential of heavy runoff in the coming days. The corps says it has an “abundant amount of space” to store water. It has been estimated that the reservoirs, spread over 5 states, can capture about a third of the snowmelt and storm water runoff in the basin. US Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh spokesperson Jeff Hawk says in 1996, the corps was able to keep the floodwaters 10 feet lower than they would have been if there were no reservoirs. Hawk says, "We can reduce the risk of flooding but we can't eliminate it.” In fact, there are two major tributaries that feed into the Pittsburgh basin that do not have flood control measures installed – the Casselman and the Cheat. The water collected in the reservoirs is released in the dry summer months to maintain a navigable flow on the region’s rivers. The reservoirs were created as part of the Flood Control Act of 1936 which came on the heals of the devastating 1936 St. Patrick's Day Flood. Hawk says since then the corps estimates the reservoirs have prevented more than $10.2 billion of damages.

Army Corps Ready for Flooding

Local Army Corps of Engineers officials say they will update state and local emergency agencies on the status of waterways in the region when the record February snowfall begins to melt.

Chief of the Readiness Office T.J. Fichera says the Corps communicates with the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, the National Weather Service, and county emergency agencies to prepare for possible floods.

Fichera says one example of the things they’re telling these agencies is that certain high-altitude reservoirs like the Youghiogheny, Tiger, and Stonewall Jackson Reservoirs have the capacity to take in a good deal of snowmelt because of their elevation.

Chief of the Corps’ Water Management Branch Werner Loehlein says we have yet to see a significant snowmelt, meaning that most of the water stored in the snowfall is still there.

Loehlein says the snow only looks like it has melted because sunshine melts the top layer, which compacts the snow beneath it.

The hydrologist says there is still potential for flooding, especially if temperatures rise quickly and it also rains. He says the Monongahela River’s tributaries are at the most risk, including the Youghiogheny and Cheat Rivers.

Youghiogheny Water OK for Municipal Use

Thanks to more than 66 years of quality improvement, water from the Youghiogheny River Lake was okayed for municipal supply today.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers told the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County that 10,000 acre-feet of water from the lake is available for use in developments and supply. That represents about 4% of the lake’s total storage.

The MAWC has currently requested just 2,950 acre-feet.

An Army Corps study shows that the reallocation of this water won’t affect the Corps’ flood reduction and water quality enhancement projects. Those initiatives have been in place since the reservoir was created in 1943.

Anyone interested in checking up on the quality of the Youghiogheny water can access data from the newly installed water quality monitor at this website.

North Park Lake Drained

The valve to drain North Park Lake was opened Tuesday morning starting a 2-year project to restore the lake to the way it was 70-years ago. When the lake was first created it covered 75 acres, now it only covers 60 acres and is much more shallow than it once was. Over the next 4-6 weeks the lake will be drained and then it will have to dry for another 4-6 weeks for before a contractor comes in to take away an estimated 350,000 cubic yards of sediment. Army Corps of Engineers Colonel Mike Crall says that is enough to fill 10,000 trucks. The sediment will be placed on an old fly ash dump adjacent to the park and eventually turned into new parkland. Topsoil will be removed from the site, set aside, and the lake sediment will be placed on the site. Once the project is completed, the topsoil will be replaced. Crall says the corps looked at both wet (hydraulic) dredging and dry (mechanical) dredging and decided mechanical dredging was best. As the lake is being lowered all fishing limits will be lifted and the state will capture as many remaining fish as possible and transport them to Deer Lakes Park. Crall says when the project is done in May of 2011 the fishing could be better than ever because they will be placing artificial fish habitats on the lake bed. After the water is restored the PA Fish and Boat Commission will resume trout stocking and warmwater fish management for largemouth bass, channel catfish and panfish. The work will be done in two phases. The first comes with a cost of $7.7 million. The County and state will cover $2.7 million and the rest will come from the federal government. The second phase will come in at 5 million and will be funded fully by the county.

Emsworth, Dashields Main Lock Chambers Reopening

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has reopened the main chamber of Dashields Lock and Dam on the Ohio River. Crews are currently refilling the dewatered Emsworth main chamber which is to be reopened Sunday at 11 p.m.
The 100 foot by 600 foot main chambers at both Dashields and Emsworth Locks and Dams were closed since July 6th to make critical repairs to the lock structures. The small chambers at each facility remained open during that time. Crews repaired three 110 to 125 ton miter gates in the main lock chambers at Dashields. These are the large gates that open and close when vessels move through the locks.
At Emsworth, workers repaired the main chamber's deteriorated emptying valves that are used to lower water levels in the lock.
District Engineer Colonel Michael Crall said "it's not easy keeping these aging structures operational. The facilities are more than 80 years old.

Army Corps Closes Two Local Locks

The Emsworth and Dashield Locks on the Ohio River will be closed most of this July, with traffic limited to the auxiliary lock at each facility. Scheduled maintenance is being done on the emptying valves of Emsworth Locks and the miter gates at Dashields by the Army Corps of Engineers. The repairs will run from July 6th to July 24th.

Army Corps spokesman Jeff Hawk says the Corps and local businesses have done their best to weaken the inevitable blow to the local economy. “We’ve coordinated heavily with industry so they could prepare their clients and supply them with their commodities ahead of time, so we expect less delivery during this time. That’s one of the reasons we took advantage of this period of time,” says Hawk. He says 74% of the locks’ traffic is coal related, so they scheduled the repairs over a miners’ holiday to minimize the impact of the closure.

Normally, 15 barges are put through the two-hour process at once, but the limitations of the maintenance will allow only one to pass through at a time. This is likely to cause massive delays, both in commercial and recreational vessels. The former are given priority over the latter, as always, so recreational boat users are urged to call Dashields at (724) 457-8430 or Emsworth at (412) 766-6213 to check for availability and wait times. More general information can be found at the Army Corps’ website.

Federal $ for Pittsburgh Locks & Dams

The U.S.Army Corps of Engineers in Pittsburgh is slated to receive more than $120 million dollars in the 2009 omnibus bill. Corps Deputy of Programs Management Lenna Hawkins says much of the funding would go toward large, urgent projects. The two that top the list are the Emsworth Locks & Dams and the Monongahela Locks & Dams 2, 3 and 4. The Emsworth facility is currently labeled "unstable" by the Army Corps, and would require more than $25 million in construction costs to stabilize it. Hawkins says the Monongahela projects are somewhat less urgent. However, work on these projects cannot begin until the Inland Waterway Trust Fund matches the federal funding. That means the the start date of this project remains undetermined. Hawkins warns that long delays of Monongahela River construction may cause business to be diverted from the area.

One Allegheny River Dam Threatened by Erosion

Allegheny Lock and Dam #6, located near Freeport, PA, is severely threatened by erosion, according to the Army Corps of Engineers. The erosion, or scour, was discovered during a recent dive inspection. A failure of the dam could cause serious problems for the area. It would shut down commericial and recreational navigation and would impact water intakes and sanitary facilities causing severe water quality degradation . A break could also damage a hydropower facility at the site possibly causing it to cease operations, and could dry up the Cogleys Island Complex near Kittaning--one of the region's largest wetlands--home to several species of endangered mussels.

Currently, the Corps is preparing a solicitation for emergency repairs. Spokesperson Jeff Hawk says they hope to have a permanent fix made before winter. One of the Corps' major concerns is ice formation on the weak dam and collisions by ice floes. The district has implemented additional safety precautions including 24/7 staffing, hourly gauge checks, and local emergency and water management coordination, until the fixes are made.