JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – Two excavators are loading soil into dump trucks at the bottom of the Conemaugh River. One load at a time, the trucks are removing sediment and vegetation to restore the Johnstown Local Flood Protection Project, safeguarding lives and property.
With each scoop, the work uncovers more of the sloped concrete walls hidden beneath the patches of forest that have overgrown the channel in recent decades.
“Doing this work may not look pretty, going from nature to concrete, but it is a necessary restoration to avoid repeating historical catastrophes that cost many lives and destroyed property,” said Tim Resciniti, the project engineer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh District.
The Army Corps completed the channel in the early 1940s after two major floods hit Johnstown in less than 50 years. When trees and vegetation grow in the channel, they can bottleneck water flow and cause the system to fail.
“The project’s primary goal is to ensure the flood protection system keeps the community safe,” said Patrick Moore, the project manager for the Pittsburgh District. “Built-up sediment and vegetation impede flood-reduction capabilities, so clearing them is essential for safety.”
The Pittsburgh District is in the fourth year of a five-year cleanup effort. The current phase focuses on two miles of river, removing up to 28,000 cubic yards of soil between now and early next year.
“If each dump truck can carry 15 cubic yards of dirt, that’s roughly 2,000 truckloads to remove the sediment,” said Tim Kephart, the contractor’s project manager.
That figure does not account for the sediment removed since 2019. The Pittsburgh District estimates removing 95,000 cubic yards, with more than a third already completed. Almost all sediment from the channel has been suitable for clean fill.
Much of the soil has gone to a local motorsport raceway instead of a landfill. Soil samples indicate the area has rebounded environmentally from a history of mining, steel production, and other pollution.
Kephart said his workers have seen trout in the river, an encouraging sign of improving waterway health.
“When I visit the project site, I often see people fishing,” Resciniti confirmed. “I’ve seen some nice fish come out of that river.”
Much of the removal work occurs in summer and fall when water levels are low enough for dump trucks and excavators to traverse the channel in just a few inches of water.
This contrasts starkly with the furious waters Johnstown faced during the 1889 flood, which resulted in the largest loss of life at the time when the South Fork Dam collapsed 14 miles upstream. The flood caused damages equivalent to $580 million today, with a death toll of 2,209 people.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers constructed the Johnstown Local Flood Protection Project between 1938 and 1943 following the devastating St. Patrick’s Day Flood of 1936.
Unlike many local projects that share responsibility, the federal government funded the construction and is fully responsible for maintaining the channel.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provided $15 million in funding for the cleanup since fiscal year 2022. The work spans 9.2 miles along three rivers and features levees and concrete-lined channels.
“The purpose of this project is to save lives and prevent property damage during major flood events,” Resciniti said.
Since its completion, the protection project has prevented an estimated $2.3 billion in flood-related damages, shielding Johnstown’s residents and infrastructure from past devastation.
“I feel honored to be part of its restoration,” Resciniti said. “We have a great responsibility to the city of Johnstown that I take very seriously, and I take a lot of pride in it.”
The current cleanup, initiated in 2019, represents the most extensive maintenance effort in the project’s history, focusing on restoring the channels to their original condition.
By doing so, the Pittsburgh District aims to ensure that the rivers can handle significant storm runoff, directing water safely out of the city and reducing the risk of flooding in downtown Johnstown and surrounding neighborhoods.
The Corps divided the sediment removal project into five separate contracts to manage the scale of the work. The restoration also includes sealing joints and repairing concrete damaged by overgrowth.
“If we didn’t do that work, the concrete sides could lift up from water flowing underneath them, causing the channel to fail,” Resciniti said.
This restoration extends the project’s lifespan, which has stood for over 80 years. The last time the Pittsburgh District performed extensive cleanup was nearly 30 years ago. The Corps is also considering future repairs, including replacing flap gates and conducting more extensive concrete repairs.
“We’ve worked with other federal and state organizations, but the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has a much higher level of detailed planning and standards,” Kephart said of his company’s partnership with the Pittsburgh District.
Kephart emphasized that extensive planning ensures taxpayer dollars are not wasted on unnecessary work.
“As a taxpayer, it’s reassuring to see that level of efficiency and commitment,” he said. “It ensures public funds are used wisely.”
He said he has enjoyed working alongside the Army Corps as partners.
“A lot of government agencies talk about partnering with contractors, and the Corps has truly been a partner. We’ve worked through problems and solutions together. It’s been a great relationship,” Kephart said.