Water conservation to continue as Beaver Run Reservoir level rebounds

Despite recent rains and snowfall that helped boost water levels at Beaver Run Reservoir, mandatory conservation remains in place for about 56,000 Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County customers.

Authority officials said water levels have rebounded at the reservoir that straddles Bell and Washington townships. The reservoir serves the northern half of the agency’s customer base in Westmoreland, Allegheny and Indiana counties.

A 2-inch snowfall Tuesday, along with another 1.3 inches of rain Jan. 9, restored 764 million gallons into the reservoir over the past week, according to MAWC.

The National Weather Service in Pittsburgh reported the region has received 4.6 inches of precipitation since the start of December.

“We have gotten a bit more active over the last couple of weeks after we had a pretty dry stretch,” meteorologist David Shallenberger said.

Amid drought-like conditions, the authority in November issued a voluntary call for water conservation for customers north of Route 30. In December, as reservoir levels continued to decrease, the authority issued a mandatory conservation order and restricted the use of water for recreational purposes. Customers were required to reduce their use of water by 5% to 10%.

MAWC Manager Michael Kukura said Tuesday conservation and increased precipitation over the past month have allowed the water level at the reservoir to rise by nearly 3 feet since the start of the year and is now above the threshold that triggered the call for both voluntary and mandatory conservation orders.

Still, officials said mandatory conservation will continue.

“We’re going to be cautious,” Kukura said. “Until we have consistent precipitation, we’re not going to do anything real crazy.”

The status quo is attributed to concerns about potential waterline breaks related to low temperatures. Winter typically brings an increase in the number of waterline ruptures, Kukura said.

A potential end to conservation will come when the forecast calls for warmer temperatures.

Shallenberger said average high temperatures are not expected to be above freezing before Monday.

A year ago, dozens of waterline breaks and leaks attributed to cold temperatures resulted in additional water to flow from the authority’s two primary sources, the Beaver Run Reservoir and the Youghiogheny River near Connellsville, which services the southern half of MAWC’s system.

With subfreezing temperatures predicted over the next couple of days, officials said there is an ongoing potential for waterline breaks that could negatively impact the reservoir.

Dry conditions throughout much of 2023 caused the reservoir level to decrease, MAWC officials said. Precipitation last year was below historical averages and produced a more than a 38-inch deficit in rain and snow at the site. As a result, the 11.4 billion gallon reservoir dipped by about half its volume, to just 5.5 billion gallons in mid-November.

Conservation efforts were implemented and other measures such as redirecting water from the Youghiogheny River helped to reduce the outflow from the reservoir by about 5 million to 7 million gallons a day. Before the conservation efforts, the authority drew up to 24 million gallons daily from the reservoir.

Authority officials also said fracking activity at gas wells on and near the Beaver Run Reservoir property was halted in November. While maintaining that fracking has had no impact on water levels at the reservoir, the moratorium remains in place, officials said.