On September 11, 2016, a section of the R. Dudley Tonkin Raftsmen’s Memorial Timber Dam approximately sixty feet in length broke off from the dam. It took up until a few weeks ago this year to obtain approval for repairs. This reporter interviewed Mr. Lytle a member of the Clearfield Borough Council and teacher at CAJSHS, on exactly how these repairs were laid out.

For those who aren’t aware of where the memorial dam is, it is located in downtown Clearfield on the section of the West Branch of the Susquehanna River between Buck’s Pizza and J.G. Food Warehouse.

CAJSHS senior Porter Kling was involved in repairing the dam. Mr. Lytle stated, “Porter started working with the (borough) Street Crew this summer and is now continuing work through the co-op program.  Porter is a great worker and fits in very well with the rest of the guys.  Porter came in with a lot of skills and a great work ethic.  The rest of the guys have continued to teach him more and more throughout the summer.”

Mr. Lytle offered the following details about the project.

Q: What led to the damage that the dam sustained?

Mr. Lytle: “The dam is approximately 40 years old.  It is actually constructed of larger timber framing and then covered on each face with wooden boards.  The inside of the dam is actually filled with basketball-sized rocks.  Through normal wear and tear, the top face of the dam had deteriorated.  We believe that let the current of the river get behind the back, vertical face of the dam which then acted like a parachute.  The weight/current of the water then dragged a portion of the dam out of place.”

Q: When were repairs were expected to be finished?

 Mr. Lytle: “There was a permitting process that had to occur with the state agencies.  That process took some time, which forced us into colder weather and higher river levels last fall/early winter.  Lumber and replacement hardware was ordered and ready to go this past spring and it was simply a matter of time until the dry, summer season let the river drop to a level where our Borough Street Crew could get in the water to work safely.

“Once they began work, it took about a week to complete.  They completed the repairs last Friday Sept 1.  The borough’s engineering firm had to inspect the work to make sure it was done properly and then the ‘go ahead’ was given to close the gate on the J.G. Market side of the river that has been raised to allow water to by-pass the dam.  The dam was closed Sep.t 7 and then the community will start to see a steady rise in the river level until it begins flowing over the dam normally once again.”

Q: Who was involved in the repairing of the dam, and who moved to fix the dam?

Mr. Lytle: “After some research, it was discovered that the dam is borough owned and the responsibility to maintain/repair it belongs to the borough.  Although the responsibility is the borough’s, we still have to get permission to work on it through other state government agencies such as the Dept. of Environmental Protection.  There are some individuals/offices at the state level that would prefer to see the waterways go back to their original natural state without any dams so it took some time to get approvals and paperwork to allow us to touch our own dam.

At the local level, our borough council sees how much the dam affects the level of the river and we all see how many residents enjoy using the river for fishing, boating and other forms of recreation.  It was important to us to make sure the dam is repaired and remains in place to help keep the river level higher for all to enjoy. Our borough street workers did the repairs, which is another illustration of how skilled our guys are.  The guys on our street crew are great workers who love Clearfield and take great pride in the work they do every day.  Although it was difficult work, they enjoyed working on this project because they know how important it is to the community and they also know that the dam will be around for years to come because of their repair efforts.”

Q: How is the borough funding this repair?

Mr. Lytle: “Money is budgeted each year for maintenance and repair of roads, parks, vehicles, etc.  The cost of repairs to purchase materials was taken from that budget.”

Q: How have you personally been involved in the repair work at the dam?

 Mr. Lytle: “Each member of borough council serves on a few subcommittees such as Public Safety, Finance, Personnel or Public Works.  Our president of council assigned me to serve as Chair of the Public Works Department, which means I am contacted when decisions need to be made on the maintenance of borough-owned properties, whether it is the roads, parks, buildings or in this case, a dam.  We have a day-to-day borough manager who works closely with the head of our Street Crew.  I am usually contacted about the long-term planning of projects or projects that are particularly expensive or time consuming.”

Q: Is there anything else you would like our readers to know?

 Mr. Lytle: “The dam repairs gave us an opportunity to examine the rest of the dam closely.  It is likely that we will need to take on another round of repairs and rehab to extend the life of the dam…perhaps this time next year.  By investing some money in the dam in the near future, the borough will be able to avoid the need to build a brand new dam any time soon which would be a much more expensive undertaking.”