As floodwaters rose across Elk County on May 21, the East Branch Dam located between Wilcox and Johnsonburg continued to purge millions of gallons of water into already drenched downstream communities, leading to accusations of mismanagement by the structure’s federal operators. 

The weeks since the flood have largely consisted of clean-up efforts and appeals for federal disaster relief.

Now add finger-pointing to that.

Local elected officials and residents have begun to question whether discharges of lake water at the federal dam could have, or should have, been stopped as torrential downpours and later floodwaters beset the communities of Ridgway and Johnsonburg.

Questions surround the dam’s additional flow into the Clarion River and whether it combined with heavy rains to bring the waterway to the second highest level in recorded history at more than 21 feet. This caused the river to overflow and parts of downtown Ridgway to become submerged, prompting emergency evacuations, boat rescues and road closures, as well as Gov. Tom Corbett’s request for a federal disaster area declaration.  

At Monday’s meeting of St. Marys City Council, Mayor Bob Howard questioned the role of “poor flood control measures” at the East Branch dam and asked the county to “look into it.” 

Howard said the engineering marvel owned and operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was created to “stop or mitigate flooding” and failed to do so. 

On Tuesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers defended its handling of the flood, saying the decision to continue discharges of water from East Branch Lake into the already raging Clarion River made little difference to downstream, riverside communities. 

Werner Loehlein, chief of the Water Management Branch of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Pittsburgh District, told The Era on Tuesday afternoon that East Branch Dam output accounted for only one percent of floodwater at Ridgway, or less than an inch of additional water in places with knee-deep or hip-deep totals.  

Loehlein said dam outflow remained at only 30 percent of its capacity during the overnight storms and subsequent flooding event — with 470 cubic feet per second (CFS) or roughly 300 million gallons of water, discharged into Ridgway from the dam on May 21. He said natural sources accounted for the vast majority — 31,530 CFS of water pouring into Ridgway on that day.  

In addition, Loehlein said dam officials lacked sufficient notice of the flash flood threat, with meteorological warnings falling well short of the five-hours it takes for changes in dam outflow to “travel” or register downstream.  

Loehlein admits that had the Corps known the true extent of the storm event, it might have acted differently. 

“When we left the day before, the forecast was for up to one inch of rain. If we knew that it would be four inches and the second highest flood on record we would have made some reduction. We probably would have done the minimum opening, but even if we did, people would not have noticed a difference. That would have only reduced the crest at Ridgway by one-inch,” Loehlein said.

He added, “What we can do in flash floods is very limited.” 

Loehlein said U.S. Geological Survey confirms that dam discharges did not increase during the flood. He added that levels on East Branch Lake remained near normal for this time of year, both during and after the storms. 

But not everyone is convinced, with some still questioning the wisdom of dam officials and arguing against claims that the dam discharge amounted to the proverbial drop in the bucket.

“I don’t believe them,” said Gennaro Aiello of Ridgway, a dock owner on East Branch Lake, who is urging the Army Corps of Engineers to re-evaluate its flood procedures at the dam and 46-square-mile watershed. 

Aiello said the decision to release water put residents at greater risk.

“I never would have guessed that they were releasing water … When I saw it, I was angry, it boggled my mind,” Aiello said. “We can’t stop the rain but there was somebody that had a switch that could have shut down the dam.” 

Loehlein said there was nobody at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Pittsburgh office to make a judgment call on reducing flow at the Elk County Dam when the storm event began in the early morning hours of May 21.

East Branch Dam’s 24/7 staff could have alerted Loehlein outside the office, but with no noticeable rise in lake level, saw no cause for concern. 

Unsatisfied with Army Corps explanations, Aiello has called on state and federal lawmakers like U.S. Rep. Glenn Thompson, R-Pa., to intervene.

Thompson’s office has informed him that meetings between the congressman and Army Corps of Engineers officials are scheduled to discuss the issue. 

Thompson could not be reached for comment on the issue as of Tuesday night.

A Ridgway-based insurance agent by trade, Aiello has heard talk among clients of a class action lawsuit if the Army Corps of Engineers is found liable for the flood damage or having contributed to it. 

But for most in the area, the primary focus remains cleaning up and drying out — two weeks later. 

“These people are devastated,” Aiello said.