Plans for handicapped-accessible fishing piers and canoe launches at Marilla and Gilbert reservoirs in Bradford Township are moving forward, with the project scheduled to be advertised for bid in January.
That news was shared at a Bradford City Water Authority on Wednesday.
The project, which would be completed in the spring, is in partnership with the McKean County Conservation District with the use of grant money to make recreational improvements to public lands, authority Executive Director Steve Disney reported at the meeting.
Already, E&M Engineers has completed the survey field work at the Gilbert Reservoir and created an existing site plan, he said.
In other business, Disney announced that after some preliminary reviews and discussions between the Department of Dam Safety and project engineering firm GAI Consultants, GAI submitted the refilling plan for Gilbert Dam. Final approval is expected in early December, and refilling would take place over four to five months, depending on the weather, Disney said.
The meeting also included an update on the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation bridge replacement projects in Foster Township, one on Derrick Road and the other on Olean Road.
Disney said that PennDOT subcontractors finished small test excavations at both sites in an attempt to identify locations of water mains. PennDOT is reviewing the findings and data to see if the water mains would need to be relocated, he said.
Bankson Engineers has been approved a $12,000 contract to put together a computerized hydraulic model of the entire city water system. This effort is the basis of crafting a Global Information System that would allow effective assessment management to be developed and the ability to construct different scenarios for future water main extensions and maintenance-related activities, Disney said.
Disney also reported that Bankson Engineers completed the annual dams inspections Oct. 20 for the Heffner, Marilla, and Gilbert reservoirs. By the end of the year, the state Department of Dam Safety and the water authority should receive written evaluations, Disney said.
The board also awarded the water treatment plant semi-annual chemical bid of $6,400 for liquid chlorine and $13,005 for caustic soda from JCI Jones Chemical Co. of Caledonia, N.Y.
The next meeting of the water authority meeting is scheduled for noon Dec. 14.
