LOCK HAVEN - It started like this last year.

The level of water in Ohl Reservoir is lower than normal because the state has said it must be so, and the region could use a good, long, soaking rain.

Sound familiar? It does to City Council.

And, like last year, customers are being asked to conserve water and cut their use by 15 percent.

Last year, the city was forced to buy and lay pipe to the Susquehanna River at Youngdale, then rent pumps to deliver river water to the filtration plant to meet the need of the 6,400 customers served by the Lock Haven and Suburban water systems.

At the time, most customers noticed only that the water from the river was harder. The higher alkalinity of the water meant soap suds didn't form as readily and white deposits had to be cleaned off sinks and tubs.

It was more than an inconvenience to the city coffers, however, as the water budget took a wallop.

Renting the pumps cost around $12,000 per month, City Manager Richard W. Marcinkevage said, and the fuel to run them costs $1,000 per day.

Although most of the 9,200 feet of piping is still in place, some of it would have to be restored should the city and Suburban Water Authority need to turn to the river again.

If the amount rain continues below normal, Marcinkevage said at City Council's work session Monday evening, it could mean going back to the river.

The two water systems are fed by water from the city's Ohl and Keller reservoirs, with treatment via the Central Clinton County Water Filtration Plant. They need 3 million gallons a day on average to serve customers representing 61 percent of the county.

The 92-million-gallon Boyd R. Keller Reservoir above the plant, near McElhattan, is the main reservoir. The 558-million-gallon Warren H. Ohl Reservoir upstream in Sugar Valley is the back-up.

Last year, Ohl Reservoir was lowered for a $4.6 million project that poured grout into fissures in the bedrock to stop seepage below the dam. While Ohl was down to about one-third its normal size, Keller very nearly went dry due to drought conditions.

On Monday, Marcinkevage called the grouting project "very successful." The work by Layne GeoConstruction "reduced the flow to almost nothing" from seepage, he said.

However, the state Department of Environmental Protection allowed the reservoir to rise to eight feet from the top and no farther, the city manager said, leaving 35 to 40 percent of the reservoir's capacity still dry.

"We began the summer with the pool below the normal full level," a press release from the Lock Haven Water Department and Suburban Water Authority states.

The levels of both reservoirs have continued to drop since then, Marcinkevage said. They are being monitored several times a week at this point.

"If we receive normal precipitation during the next several months, we should experience no problems," the press release states. "However, if our precipitation levels continue below normal, the worst-case scenario would be a need to again implement alternate sources, including possibly drawing river water.

"We are therefore requesting all customers of the city and Suburban water systems to reduce their consumption by 15 percent so that we can ensure sufficient supply for the upcoming months."

Marcinkevage said the city, Suburban and DEP met last month on the subject and will meet again Nov. 25.

Meanwhile, he said, he doesn't know when DEP will allow Ohl to fill up to capacity again - or if it ever will unless more rehabilitation work is done.

The seepage is under control, yes, but the design criteria for spillways has changed recently, putting Ohl and a large number of other dams on DEP's "list of concern" as an agency spokesman put it.

The old spillways that passed muster when they were built - Ohl Dam dates from 1965 - are now considered inadequate.

"We did everything they wanted us to do," Councilman Steve Stevenson said. "And if we're losing 35 to 40 percent of our potential water resource, I think we should be given some consideration."