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LOCK HAVEN -- Lock Haven City Council unanimously approved a Condemnation Resolution related to its emergency water well construction in Wayne Township, though it hopes never to use.
Council approved the resolution during a special meeting Wednesday afternoon after hearing an update about the project from City Manager Gregory Wilson, Solicitor Justin Houser and Public Works Director Tony Stopper.
The wells, which were previously intended to serve only as a supplemental water source when the city-owned Keller Dam in Zindel Park is upgraded, are now being pushed ahead due to low water levels at Ohl Reservoir in Greene Township, which feeds into Keller.
"The city has been in communication with all of the property owners listed in this resolution as well as two others," Wilson said. "Those two others did sign and return their temporary easements."
The easements must be signed to allow water lines to cross over multiple properties on its way from the wells to the water treatment plant.
Wilson said the city is actively communicating with other property owners that have not signed the agreement. He noted he along with Houser and others met with one property owner at 1 p.m. with plans to meet with another at 4 p.m. that same day.
"There is a hope that no condemnation will be needed and these easements will be signed and put in place for the temporary easement," Wilson said. "This is put before council so the option is available in case any of the parties and the city are unable to come to a reasonable conclusion."
Houser echoed much of Wilson's statements, noting that the resolution is worded to include receiving permission from Wayne Township's Board of Supervisors in the event it must be used.
"As the city manager said, there is no present intent to move forward with condemnation," he said. "This is to prevent any further delays if it does become necessary."
Two property owners that may have to sign an easement with the city attended Wednesday's special meeting to voice concerns.
The resident said she had not signed anything yet and had questions regarding the potential easement.
"There's a lot of questions I have. I'm not the only person on the property, it's a family property," she said. "I can only speak for myself, not everybody else but I have a lot of concerns."
Houser suggested they meet immediately following the meeting to help answer questions.
Wilson and Stopper also took the time to provide an update regarding the ongoing low water levels at Ohl Reservoir.
According to Wilson, the city's water supply is now at about 90 days due to recent rainfall.
"Still, we need 220 million gallons to fill Ohl Reservoir," he said. "So that's a significant amount."
Wilson said the city has been doing leak detection through a hired firm and has so far found and fixed roughly 90 leaks within its system.
According to a water report provided by Wilson to The Express, Ohl Reservoir currently has about 237.5 million gallons of water. However, Ohl typically holds about 558 million gallons, he said.
Stopper said leak detection is continuing into this week.
Wilson added the $1 million budgeted for the emergency water supply construction has seen about $719,000 spent. The funding came from a 2022 CDBG fund.
"Obviously it will probably come very close to the million dollars," he said.
Other information provided in the water activities report included:
-- Water Usage: Daily plant water demand was analyzed from Oct. 1 to Nov. 13. Trend evaluation shows only a nominal 7.5 percent reduction over the last 44 days. Current estimated raw water demand is 2.85 million gallons per day. The goal is to reduce water demand below 2.5 million gallons per day.
-- DEP Request for Instream Flow Reduction: City's engineer Gwin Dobson and Foreman previously requested a reduction in its Instream Flow Reduction to help retain water in its system. The request was submitted Oct. 3 and DEP requested additional data on Nov. 9. Discussions last week with DEP indicate the reduction could be granted after discussion with the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission.
-- Pressure Recorder: To monitor real-time system pressures in the city, a chart recorder was installed at the wastewater treatment plant.