MORGANTOWN — The Morgantown Utility Board’s new Flegal Reservoir is 100% full.
At least, it was.
“I’m excited to tell you that for the last eight days, everyone has been drinking water from the reservoir exclusively, 100%,” MUB General Manager Mike McNulty told members of the utility’s board of directors on Tuesday.
Just over five years after the project began with timber clearing on the 125-acre site off Cobun Creek Road, McNulty said MUB’s new $50 million, 370-million gallon, 30-day secondary water source is complete and functioning as intended.
“We are obviously very excited about it,” he added.
MUB has already put out a request for bids for security fencing that will prevent individuals from accessing the spillway and dam structure with motorized vehicles like dirt bikes and four wheelers.
“We’re waiting for estimates from Mon Power for lighting. We’ll be working to get video surveillance later this year,” McNulty said. “MUB staff has been working with city staff on the recreational features planned for the reservoir.”
As part of the larger project, contractor Kanawha Stone will soon turn its attention from the new Flegal Reservoir to the original Cobun Creek reservoir located in White Park.
Assistant General Manager and Chief Engineer Rich Rogers said the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection has ordered stabilization work on the old dam’s spillway.
“If you’ve been out there you know that erosion has occurred on the spillway wall and there’s like a grotto that’s in there that people actually get in the wall and walk up through there,” Rogers said, explaining Kanawha Stone has suggested stabilizing the overhang with anchors instead of filling the whole area in with concrete.
“They proposed stabilizing that area with rock bolts and rock anchors and shotcreting the grotto area so that area would remain,” he said. “I think we like the concept of that, not taking that away and leaving it more natural looking, but stabilizing it also.”
