Residents concerned about a study looking at the operation of Francis E. Walter Dam and reservoir had their first chance to share their concerns Thursday night.

They also heard from a New York City official about why his agency is helping to fund a study into the operation of the dam, which spans the Lehigh in Northeast Pennsylvania.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers held a public meeting at Mountain Laurel Resort to discuss the Francis E. Walter Dam Reevaluation Study.

Hundreds of people packed the meeting as officials with the Army Corps and the city discussed the reasons for the study, and what they hope to learn from it.

“I’m excited for the possibility of new things to come out of this, but I’m also very concerned about what could come out of it negatively,” said Brandon Fogal of Pocono Whitewater.

$2.8M study

The study is expected to take until 2022 to complete.

The $2.8 million study will re-evaluate the dam’s current uses — which are flood control and recreation. It will look in particular at whether additional water could be released from the reservoir under drought conditions to help prevent salt water from entering the river downstream from Philadelphia during periods of drought.

While residents were willing to listen, they said they want to make sure that it won’t come at the expense of the recreational water releases which have made the Lehigh River a destination for white water kayaking and rafting.

Paul Rush, deputy commissioner of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, sought to explain why his agency is contributing $895,000 toward the study.

“This is not about what’s best for New York City, it’s about what’s best for the Delaware River and people who depend on it,” Rush said.

Rush said New York is not interested in the reservoir for drinking water, and that the city’s water use has actually decreased over the last 40 years while its population has increased.

Rush oversees the city’s reservoirs in the Catskill Mountains. Three of them feed into the Delaware. Rush said the city releases billions of gallons of drinking water from its reservoirs each year to help keep saltwater out of the Delaware River when the river’s flow decreases during periods of drought.

Rush said his agency believes that other reservoirs in the Delaware River Basin, like Francis E. Walter, could help with that purpose.

“Its waters combined with releases from other reservoirs, including those owned by NYC, could help more efficiently and effectively push the salt water back toward the ocean. We thought that was an opportunity to explore,” Rush said.

Rush said the same idea was suggested by the federal government following a major drought in the 1980s.

Plan works now

The engineer overseeing the study for the Army Corps, Dan Caprioli, said he thinks that Francis E. Walter can help in drought conditions on the Delaware, without affecting recreation on the Lehigh. He said the study will look for “win-win” solutions.

“We’re not interested in eliminating white water releases or reducing the plan, if anything we’re looking to improve, looking for ways to compromise that,” he said.

A number of the speakers utilize the river during recreational releases — river guides, kayakers and fishermen. They said that the current plan works and don’t want to see it go away.

Ken Powley, owner of Whitewater Challengers, said the current plan took years to put in place, and is nationally recognized as a great example of a public-private partnership promoting outdoor recreation.

“This plan works. It works for fishing, it works for boating,” he said.

Jerry McAward, owner of Lehighton Outdoor Center, said he’s concerned about the possibility that the study could recommend that water currently stored in the reservoir be set aside for periods of drought. If that happens, he said, it would mean there is less water available for recreation.

Mike Stanislaw of the Lehigh Coldwater Fishery Alliance said the dam should build on the existing recreational flow management plan, not take away from it.

1,750 signatures

Amber Breiner of Carbon County Community Foundation and Friends of the Lehigh River read out comments from a petition which has over 1,750 signatures urging the Army Corps to consider the needs of the people in the immediate region of the Lehigh River during the study.

New York City’s involvement has caused some to be suspicious of whether the study has a predetermined outcome.

Ed Ragan of Northampton County said he believes the city is acting in its own interest. He said that history shows that New York City has put reservoirs before the good of the basin before, and he believes it is happening again.

“The Army Corps of Engineers’ main goal is flood control, second is recreation. New York City’s goal is to impound as much water as possible in its reservoirs,” he said.

A few urged the crowd to take a wait-and-see approach to the study.

Daryl Pierce, Delaware River biologist for Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, said his agency is taking a glass half-full approach to the study. He said PFBC has interests in both the Lehigh and the Delaware.

“We are very excited and pleased for the opportunity of this study. It brings with it possibilities — to improve and enhance which may not exist.

Elected officials also spoke. They said they wanted to speak on behalf of their constituents who would be negatively affected by the project.

Commissioner Wayne Nothstein said he’s concerned about the potential loss of jobs and tax revenue which could result if the recreation use goes away.

“Our white water outfitters employ 1,300-1,400 employees during the summer,” he said. “We are concerned with the future needs of Carbon County and the tax revenue we could possibly lose, and jobs,” he said.

State Rep. Doyle Heffley brought up the ripple effects of possibly raising the dam to promote a cold water fishery. Heffley said that it could have a negative effect on surrounding property owners.

“If there’s money spent to increase the dam, there also needs to be resources available to the downstream and upstream impacts to those communities,” he said.

Residents can submit written comments for the study up until Jan. 29. Comments can be directed to PDPA-NAP@usace.army.mil, or U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Planning Division, 100 Penn Square E., Philadelphia, PA 19107. Future public comment opportunities will also be available.