Frank E. Heller Dam

Last updated

Frank E. Heller Dam
Location Armstrong Township, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania
Coordinates 41°11′32″N76°59′55″W / 41.1921°N 76.9985°W / 41.1921; -76.9985
StatusOperational
Construction began1972
Opening date1975
Owner(s)Williamsport Municipal Water Authority and Pennsylvania American Water
Operator(s)Williamsport Municipal Water Authority and Pennsylvania American Water
Dam and spillways
ImpoundsHagerman's Run
Length195 ft
Elevation at crest1,355 ft MSL (413 m)
Spillways 2
Spillway typeSide channel and chute
Reservoir
CreatesHagerman Reservoir

The Frank E. Heller Dam is an embankment dam that impounds Hagerman's Run and creates the Hagerman Reservoir that supplies water for Lycoming County, Pennsylvania. [1] It is owned by the Williamsport Municipal Water Authority and Pennsylvania-American Water Company. Opened in 1975 it is located in Armstrong Township in southern Lycoming County. [2] [3]

Contents

History

Construction of the dam began in 1972 and was completed in 1975. With population of Williamsport and the county rising, the Williamsport Municipal Water Authority was in need of expansion. The expansion added 530 million gallons to the storage capacity. [4]

Danger of breach

In August 2019, engineers found signs of fatigue in the dams base and had failed its inspection. A water authority spokesperson said the dam is "highly likely to have a complete failure in the next five to ten years". [5] Its estimated over 2,600 people as well as hundreds of homes and businesses would be at risk if the dam were to fail. Economic costs could to be at over $22 million. The Williamsport Municipal Water Authority has submitted an emergency grant request of $221,357 in preliminary engineering funds to the Federal Emergency Management Agency and hopes to receive approval by September 30. [6] [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lycoming County, Pennsylvania</span> County in Pennsylvania, United States

Lycoming County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 114,188. Its county seat is Williamsport. The county is part of the Central Pennsylvania region of the state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Armstrong Township, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania</span> Township in Pennsylvania, United States

Armstrong Township is a township in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 685 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Williamsport, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Limestone Township, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania</span> Township in Pennsylvania, United States

Limestone Township is a township in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,968 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Williamsport Metropolitan Statistical Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muncy Creek Township, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania</span> Township in Pennsylvania, United States

Muncy Creek Township is a township in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 3,575 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Williamsport Metropolitan Statistical Area. The unincorporated village of Clarkstown is in Muncy Creek Township.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Williamsport, Pennsylvania</span> Borough in Pennsylvania, United States

South Williamsport is a borough in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is famous for hosting the Little League World Series. The population was 6,259 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Williamsport, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Williamsport, Pennsylvania</span> City in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, United States

Williamsport is a city in and the county seat of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 27,754. It is the principal city of the Williamsport Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a population of about 114,000. Williamsport is the larger principal city of the Williamsport-Lock Haven Combined Statistical Area, which includes Lycoming and Clinton counties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Branch Susquehanna River</span> River in Pennsylvania, United States

The West Branch Susquehanna River is one of the two principal branches, along with the North Branch, of the Susquehanna River in the Northeastern United States. The North Branch, which rises in upstate New York, is generally regarded as the extension of the main branch, with the shorter West Branch being its principal tributary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lycoming Creek</span> River in Pennsylvania, United States

Lycoming Creek is a 37.5-mile-long (60.4 km) tributary of the West Branch Susquehanna River located in Tioga and Lycoming counties in Pennsylvania in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Williamsport Regional Airport</span> Commercial airport in Williamsport, Pennsylvania

Williamsport Regional Airport serves Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and the surrounding area with a population of roughly 200,000. The airport processes approximately 40,000 passengers annually and has served north central Pennsylvania since 1929.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pennsylvania Route 14</span> State highway in Pennsylvania, US

Pennsylvania Route 14 is a Pennsylvania highway that runs for 52 miles (84 km). It runs from U.S. Route 15 in Trout Run, Pennsylvania to the New York-Pennsylvania border at Fassett, Pennsylvania, co-signed with US 6 for a short distance in Troy. The highway continues in New York as New York State Route 14.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Larrys Creek</span> Tributary of the West Branch Susquehanna River

Larrys Creek is a 22.9-mile-long (36.9 km) tributary of the West Branch Susquehanna River in Lycoming County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. A part of the Chesapeake Bay drainage basin, its watershed drains 89.1 square miles (231 km2) in six townships and a borough. The creek flows south from the dissected Allegheny Plateau to the Ridge-and-valley Appalachians through sandstone, limestone, and shale from the Devonian, Mississippian, and Pennsylvanian periods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lycoming Valley Railroad</span> Pennsylvania railroad

The Lycoming Valley Railroad is a short line that operates 38 miles (61 km) of track in Lycoming and Clinton counties in Pennsylvania in the United States. It is part of the North Shore Railroad System.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Susquehanna State Park (Pennsylvania)</span> State park in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania

Susquehanna State Park is a Pennsylvania state park on 20 acres (8.1 ha) in Williamsport in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The park is on the West Branch Susquehanna River in the western part of Williamsport, and is operated by the Williamsport / Lycoming Chamber of Commerce in cooperation with the Bureau of State Parks of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Susquehanna State Park offers cruises on a paddlewheeler, boating, fishing, and picnicking.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Valley Transit</span> Public transit operator in Williamsport, Pennsylvania

The River Valley Transit Authority is the public transit operator serving Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and surrounding Lycoming County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pennsylvania Route 554</span> State highway in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, US

Pennsylvania Route 554 is a highway which runs for 8 miles (14 km) generally north–south in Lycoming County in north central Pennsylvania in the United States. Its southern terminus is at PA 44 just north of the unincorporated village of Elimsport in Washington Township and its northern terminus is at U.S. Route 15 in South Williamsport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plunketts Creek (Loyalsock Creek tributary)</span> River in the US state of Pennsylvania

Plunketts Creek is an approximately 6.2-mile-long (10 km) tributary of Loyalsock Creek in Lycoming and Sullivan counties in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Two unincorporated villages and a hamlet are on the creek, and its watershed drains 23.6 square miles (61 km2) in parts of five townships. The creek is a part of the Chesapeake Bay drainage basin via Loyalsock Creek and the West Branch Susquehanna and Susquehanna Rivers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Marino</span> American politician & attorney (born 1952)

Thomas Anthony Marino is an American politician and attorney, who served as a United States Representative from Pennsylvania from 2011 to 2019. He represented the 10th congressional district from January 3, 2011 to January 3, 2019, and the 12th district from January 3 to January 23, 2019, when he resigned to work in the private sector. A member of the Republican Party, Marino was the United States Attorney for the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania in his early career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lycoming Mall</span> Shopping mall in Pennsylvania, United States

Lycoming Mall was a shopping mall located twelve miles east of Williamsport, Pennsylvania off Route 220 and I-180. It is anchored by Burlington.

UPMC Williamsport, formerly UPMC Susquehanna Williamsport or Williamsport Regional Medical Center, is a 24-hr emergency hospital of UPMC Susquenhana located in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Originally established in 1873 as the Williamsport Hospital, it currently operates at least 224 beds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transportation in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania</span>

Transportation in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania has a long and varied history. The area was settled in the mid 1700s. Transportation was mostly using the Susquehanna River and railroad as Williamsport was a travel hub or center for Central Pennsylvania.

References

  1. "Frank E Heller Dam (in Lycoming County, PA)". pennsylvania.hometownlocator.com. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  2. "GNIS Detail - Frank E Heller Dam". geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  3. "Frank E Heller Dam Fishing near South Williamsport, Pennsylvania | HookandBullet.com". www.hookandbullet.com. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  4. "WMWA History (pdf)" (PDF).
  5. Reiner, Anne (August 28, 2019). "Dam above South Williamsport in danger of breach, emergency funding requested" . Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  6. Reiner, Anne (August 30, 2019). "Dam above South Williamsport in danger of breach, emergency funding requested". NorthcentralPA.com. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  7. Maroney, Mark (August 29, 2019). "US lawmaker tours dam near South Williamsport". Williamsport Sun-Gazette. Retrieved September 3, 2019.