In the News

Lackawanna County hired a firm to design and engineer the eventual reconstruction of the No. 5 Dam on Montage Mountain, an important safety project supported by federal funds.

Built between 1887 and 1888, the county-owned dam contains the PA-5 Reservoir fed by Stafford Meadow Brook, a major water source for Montage. The dam currently suffers from inadequate spillway capacity that the planned project would address, allowing more water to safely pass over the spillway in the event of severe storms and flooding.

Dam rehabilitation and reconstruction will help extend the life of the infrastructure, bring the dam and spillway into compliance with current regulations and mitigate the downstream risk of a breach, officials said.

U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright, D-8, Moosic, announced in March about $1.38 million in federal fiscal year 2024 Community Project funding for the spillway rehabilitation work. It will improve flood protection for about 3,000 people, he said at the time.

"The project is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because it will remove this asset from (the Federal Emergency Management Agency's) High Hazard Potential Dam List, while significantly mitigating risks of flood, property damage and loss of life for all citizens, businesses and schools located downstream from the dam," Cartwright wrote in his funding request.