Oct 7, 2002 By Paul Sunyak 4 min read

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has concluded that it can release an additional 10,000 acre feet of water per year from the Yough Dam for water supply purposes – but the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County won’t necessarily get the full allotment. Although a final draft of the corps’ recommendations won’t be completed until Nov. 1, project manager Robert Waigand said the upshot of the matter is that MAWC will have to compete with other interested parties to purchase the additional water reserves.

“What the report is going to say is that we will earmark 10,000 acre feet for water supply,” said Waigand. “(But) instead of committing the entire 10,000 to MAWC, anybody could apply … The 10,000 acre feet is still going to be available, but not only to MAWC.”

Waigand said that one acre-foot of water – enough to cover one acre at a 1-foot depth – contains 326,000 gallons. The extra 10,000 acre feet planned for release every year for water allocation amounts to 3.2 billion gallons.

However, using that water will come at a cost. Waigand said the corps would seek between $350,000 and $600,000 per year for the full 10,000 acre feet, to cover its capitalization costs for the Yough Dam, and its operation and maintenance costs.

If more than one entity is interested in purchasing the water, each would pay a proportional share of the cost depending on how much of the added water it is permitted to withdraw from the Yough River.

Fayette County Commissioner Sean M. Cavanagh, who recently met twice with corps officials, said he thinks Fayette County officials should look a century into the future and make a strong bid to obtain at least some of the available water rights.

“I think the county commissioners and other elected officials should take a lead role in focusing on the future of this water source,” said Cavanagh. “I’m going to recommend that Fayette County strongly consider purchasing the rights to that water for our future needs.

“Right now, it’s not a big impact. But 50 or 100 years down the road, it could be monumental … Without water, there’s nothing.”

Cavanagh said he’s willing to consider committing county funds to tying up some of the added water reserve, which he admits could be a “very expensive proposition.” But he said the stakes are high, as future economic growth will likely be inexorably tied to available water supplies.

Cavanagh predicted that businesses would someday look to relocate from water-scarce areas like California.

“The question is, ‘Will those businesses be located in Westmoreland County or Fayette County?”‘ said Cavanagh.

According to a fact sheet that Cavanagh obtained during one of his meetings with the corps, the Youghiogheny River Lake Water Management and Reallocation Study determined that the corps can “give up” an extra 10,000 acre feet from its low flow augmentation, for release as additional water supply.

Waigand said that this basically means the corps would alter the dam’s water release schedule, conserving additional water in the spring when water is more plentiful and releasing it at a slower rate. As a result, Waigand said the dam’s summer pool depth would “last a little bit longer, perhaps an extra one or two weeks.

Although the MAWC, which sponsored the $489,000 water study in conjunction with the corps, initially requested the full 10,000 acre feet, the fact sheet released by Cavanagh notes that the MAWC has agreed to delay taking any additional water until 2007, when it plans to ask for 2,950 acre feet.

Cavanagh said it’s important for Fayette officials and interested parties to take note of the study’s public review period, which is slated for Nov. 18 through Dec. 2 of this year.

“That water can be purchased on a first-come, first-served basis, by whoever wants the water,” said Cavanagh.