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LOCK HAVEN -- Lock Haven City Council has adopted a resolution that reinforces the Emergency Declaration made by Mayor Joel Long.
Long signed the Declaration of Emergency on Friday due to low water levels at the city's owned reservoirs in Wayne and Greene townships.
The declaration, among other things, encourages city residents and water customers to reduce water usage by 20 percent. It also prohibits a list of "non-essential" uses for water. Those uses can be reviewed on the city's website www.lockhavenpa.gov.
For months, the city has already been encouraging residents and water customers to avoid excessive use of water due to lower levels at its reservoirs.
Water levels at the dam, located in Greene Township, were previously lowered as the city continues its improvement project.
"It has of late become necessary to lower the water level in the Ohl Reservoir by five feet to enable essential work to be done on the spillway," the resolution reads. "It has been discovered that the recovery rate of the water level in the Ohl Reservoir is increasingly low."
This is due, in part, to lower than average rain levels throughout the summer and into autumn.
The Declaration of Emergency, and resolution adopted by council Monday night, enabled the city to tap into other sources of water -- including supplemental water wells in Wayne Township.
The water wells were drilled as part of the dam improvement projects. Something Long noted was a good thing, although it did come at a cost to the city.
The state of emergency, if enacted, would last until Friday, Dec. 31, 2023.
The state of emergency gave the city the ability to enter into contracts for the purchase or leasing of the following equipment, if necessary, without the requirement of advertising or bidding:
-- 12-inch and 16-inch HDPE water pipe
-- Two submersible water pumps
-- A water disinfection system and trailer
-- A chlorine analyzer
-- Associated geological or engineering costs
-- Such other and further products and services as necessary to effectuate the supply of water to the city.
The cost for these items would be paid for through the city's Series A debt note, the resolution states.
In early October, City Public Works Director Tony Stopper noted the city was already working with engineer Gwin Dobson & Foreman in the event any further action would need to be taken.
On Monday night, council also gave Gwin Dobson & Foreman the ability to "engineer the emergency connection of water to the system and prepare a budget for the same."
It also includes a draft letter to water customers for both the city and Suburban Water Authority -- which utilizes the same water source.