It was announced during Tuesday’s Bradford Water Authority
meeting that Cummins Construction Co. was the low bidder for the
upcoming Marilla Dam rehabilitation project.

The authority accepted Cummins’ low bid of $2,941,210, and will
move forward with securing the contract.

The bid was opened Thursday, water authority executive director
Kim Benjamin said. There were only two bids. Cummins Construction
Co. beat out Clearwater Construction Co. out of Mercer, who bid
$5,261,000.

Early in March, estimates from Bankson Engineering put the
expected cost of the project at $2.9 million. Required design
changes set forth by the federal Bureau of Dams in Harrisburg had
pushed the estimated cost of the project from $2 million to $2.9
million at about that time.

Benjamin went on to say the rehabilitation of the watershed’s
oldest dam has so far been three-year process, with construction to
start in the next few weeks. The project -ðwhich will entail the
use of a relatively new construction method, roller-compacted
concrete or RCC -ðis expected to be wrapped up around November, he
said.

Marilla Dam, located along West Washington Street, is more than
100 years old. The other two dams in the watershed are Gilbert,
also off West Washington Street, and Heffner at the end of West
Corydon Street.

He said the reservoir would be “completely drained for all
intents and purposes,” for the rehabilitation, which he added would
be also be “very weather dependent.”

Marilla Dam was deemed unsafe by the Bureau of Dams in 2004 due
to “concerns over the stability of the down-stream slope and
capacity of the spillway,” officials said at that time.

Another water authority project Cummins Construction Co. will be
working on very soon is the temporary connection with Lewis Run
Borough’s water system, Benjamin said. He said the connection
should be “a reality” in about two to three weeks. He also
mentioned the authority’s solicitor Fred Gallup would work with
Lewis Run officials to create an “intergovernmental cooperative
agreement” regarding the extension.

Lewis Run Borough has had ongoing problems with its water supply
over the last few years. Currently, the municipality is depending
on a spring that is in danger of drying up. Two wells previously
used in Lewis Run were deemed contaminated by the DEP, which
drilled a third well for Lewis Run, but never completed it.

In other business, Benjamin announced the authority had updated
its Public Access Agreement with the Pennsylvania Game Commission.
He said the authority has had an agreement with the game commission
since 1986; the agreement allows the game commission to enforce
state laws on the watershed. The language in the agreement, he
noted, was “cleaned up.”

Gallup added the agreement can be terminated with 60 days notice
at any time.

“We’re no marred to the game commission for any longer than 60
days, nor they to us,” Gallup said.

Also at the meeting, Benjamin talked about the state Department
of Environmental Protection’s drought watch, saying that history
has shown drought is not a “critical” concern for residents of the
Bradford area.

“We’ll continue to monitor our levels, however, and work with
the state through this dry spring we’ve had,” Benjamin said.

Also at the meeting, Benjamin reminded members the authority had
been contemplating using a robotic cleaning method to clean the
Prospect Street Reservoir #4. The only contractors who bid on the
project, however, proposed using divers instead of robots.
Officials went back to the drawing board, and have now decided to
partially drain the reservoir and attempt to clean it themselves
“the old fashioned way,” Benjamin said, by “hosing it out.”

Benjamin also reported that 3,700 feet of line had been ordered
for an upcoming water line extension to the Shontz Trailer Park on
Route 59. About 20 trailers will be fed water through a master
meter, he said. The authority will invest $20,000 for the actual
hook-ups into the system for those 20 residences, Benjamin
explained, and the owner of the trailer park will be responsible
for a balance of a little more than $15,000 to complete the
project.

Firth Maple Products Inc. out of Spartansburg was the high
bidder for 57,280 board feet of marked sawtimber at the Good Site
Deer Fence Timber Sale Compartment #6, offering $84,000 for the
timber.

The next water authority meeting is set for 11 a.m. June 27.