The Marilla Reservoir dam rehabilitation project will go out to
bid in late January or early February, the Bradford City Water
Authority learned Tuesday.

Executive Director Kim Benjamin said he traveled to the offices
of GAI Engineering in Pittsburgh last week to review the
specifications of the project, which will eventually be sent to the
state Department of Environmental Protection’s Bureau of Dams for
approval.

Benjamin said the project appears to be holding to the original
timeline, which calls for work to begin in the spring of 2006.

“There have been some changes to the overall design, but to this
point they have been in our favor, both monetarily and time wise,”
Benjamin said.

The project – which will cost about $2 million – is meant to be
a one-season project, which was added to the DEP’s “unsafe dams
list” last year due to concerns over the stability of the
downstream slope and capacity of the spillway.

The agency had the authority lower water levels at the dam and
wants drains installed along the banks. Ultimately, repairs to the
dam will reduce moisture at the base of the slopes, eliminating
water and wet soil problems there.

Marilla, which is situated along West Washington Street in
Bradford Township and was built in 1899, is the oldest of the three
authority-controlled dams; the other two reservoirs are Gilbert and
Heffner. GAI did an evaluation of the trio in 2003, and found the
other two dams to be in satisfactory condition to meet DEP
standards.

According to Benjamin, the work will require the removal of some
timber around the reservoir.

“The amount of timber that has to be removed will try to be kept
at a minimum,” Benjamin said, “but it will still be a significant
amount.”

Meanwhile, officials said the existing stream channel and bridge
crossing over it will remain in place. Originally, plans called for
the stream channel to be “straightened out.”

In other news, the authority heard about the status of the
ongoing water and sewage line extension project through Lafayette
Township to Bradford Regional Airport.

Officials said Chivers Construction of North East, the
contractors for the project, have already placed 10,000 feet of
line; the total project calls for 14,000 feet to be laid.

Work on the $1.6 million project began in September after a
series of delays, in part, due to permit issues with the DEP. The
agency was required to advertise the permit in the Pennsylvania
Bulletin for 30 days, but did not.

The project has been backed by federal funding, as well as the
Water Authority and Lafayette Township Sewer Authority. The
extension is seen as a key element in the airport landing a
Pennsylvania Army National Guard armory. Meanwhile, more than 40
township residents will be eligible to hook onto the system once
service begins.

“As soon as they (contractors) started digging, we began
receiving inquiries about hooking up,” Benjamin said. “It is not a
mandatory connection, however.”

Benjamin said the authority will soon begin sending letters to
prospective customers concerning their ability to hook onto the
system. Just when the system will be operational enough for that to
occur is still not known. Airport officials have been told the
water line portion of the project will be completed by Dec. 14.

The large water tank located by the Federal Correctional
Institution-McKean will be used to provide pressure to the system
at the beginning, but a new tank is in the early stages of being
built near the airport’s access road.

Officials said the Big Shanty pump station will be used to
direct the flow of water, and will be adequate enough to handle the
load.

The sewer line will be extended to the airport from Bradford
along the old Erie Railroad grade.

Also, Benjamin briefed the authority on the cleaning of
Reservoir #4 above Prospect Street.

Located on Newell Hill, the small pressure reservoir will be
cleaned using robotic equipment while the reservoir remains in
service. Benjamin said the cleaning is not related to any weather
issue.

Work will begin when the bidding for the project is
completed.

The authority also awarded the East Interstate Parkway timber
sale bid to Highland Forest Resources Inc. of Marienville in the
amount of $377,617.

All told, more than 328,220 net board feet of marked sawtimber
were sold, including black cherry, red oak, ash and hard and soft
maple.

The last timber sale of the year – for 448,330 new board feet on
authority property – is currently out to bid.

“How this last sale comes in will have a significant impact on
what our timber sales for the year will be,” Benjamin said.