CLEARFIELD – Locals and out-of-town visitors alike could soon enjoy an enhanced outdoor recreational experience on the river in Clearfield County as a pair of whitewater park proposals move towards the engineering and design phase.
Clearly Ahead Development has proposed the removal of Clearfield’s Raftmen’s Memorial Timber Dam and the creation of a whitewater recreation park in the West Branch of the Susquehanna River.
Last Thursday night, Clearfield Borough Council voted to authorize its solicitor to formulate an agreement with the Clearfield Revitalization Corp. solicitor to move forward with the engineering study with no financial obligation to the borough or further action beyond the study without further discussion.
CRC’s board of directors has already authorized the CRC to spearhead pursuit of grant opportunities as well as private donation and fundraising efforts.
Consequentially, Clearfield Borough will not be responsible for the $255,000 required for the engineering study so it may keep its focus on funding other borough initiatives.
If the project moves forward and reaches completion, ongoing maintenance and insurance costs would still be the responsibility of the borough, as the costs for the current low-head dam are presently.
Clearly Ahead has also proposed the removal and replacement of the low-head dam at Pee Wee’s Nest by Irvin Park in Curwensville with a whitewater recreation park.
Monday night Curwensville Borough Council voted to formulate an agreement with Clearly Ahead and Curwensville Regional Development Corp. to move forward with the engineering study with no financial obligation to the borough, with CRDC spearheading efforts to come up with the $213,000 needed for the study.
The projects have been proposed to proactively find a solution to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s initiative to remove low-head dams.
Pennsylvania has been a leader in low-head dam removals for 14 years in a row. Seventy-five percent of its 3,000 dams are mostly low-head dams.
Low-head dams are reportedly more dangerous for boating, paddling, tubing and swimming, and have been nicknamed “drowning machines” due to their highly-dangerous, circular currents.
Artificially-designed, in-water recreation parks are substantially safer than low-head dams and also safe for boaters, paddlers, tubing, swimming, fishing and onlookers.
In the event swift-water training becomes necessary, members of a local paddling group—Friends of Moshannon Creek—have offered to provide and or cover costs for swift-water rescue training for local firefighters and first responders.
Last year Clearly Ahead brought together 30 stakeholders in the region, including business owners, fishing and boating enthusiasts, municipal officials and so on to meet with engineers of S2O Design and Engineering of Colorado.
S2O is a leading developer of whitewater parks, and will help develop the engineering designs for the proposed parks in Clearfield and Curwensville with Stahl Sheaffer Engineering of Clearfield.
A study has been conducted on the feasibility of creating the parks, with funding from the Appalachian Region Commission and Visit Clearfield County.
Both of the dams in Clearfield and Curwensville are deteriorating and dangerous in general with the undertow created by the flow of the water through the dams, according to previously-published reports.
Clearly Ahead is also looking to have the former Howe’s Leather site either purchased and developed by a business, or to start the project itself, but part of that plan would include walking trails around the site connecting to Curwensville, Rails to Trails and the river.
Additionally it would like to develop a six-acre former sludge lagoon into a “whitewater village” offering glamping opportunities, as well as create a system of river trails along both sides of the river at the Raftmen’s Dam in Clearfield.
GenOn has been fully supportive of the project plans, and with the proposed removal of low-head dams in Curwensville, Clearfield and Shawville, it would open up a 100-mile stretch of the Susquehanna.
Recently Clearly Ahead Development Chief Executive Officer Rob Swales visited Colorado where he traveled roughly 650 miles to tour six whitewater recreation parks in less than three days.
He also met with S2O Design and Engineering.
Swales visited Clear Creek Whitewater Kayaking Park in Golden, Colo.; Downtown Boulder’s whitewater park in Boulder, Colo.; LaVern M. Johnson Park in Lyons, Colo; Poudre River Whitewater Park in Fort Collins, Colo.; Pillars Park in Pueblo, Colo.; and Centennial Park in Cañon City, Colo.
In Boulder and Lyons, Swales was given park tours by world champion and three-time Team USA Olympic paddler, Scott Shipley—current president of S2O Design and Engineering.
Swales said Pillars Park on the Arkansas River was a great example of how to implement its design concepts with a wide body of water.
“It was recommended by S2O for our Clearfield modeling purposes—simply for scalability,” said Swales.
“The river is so wide [in Clearfield], and to maintain up-river water surface elevations, construction and design have to be done a bit differently than with narrower channels of water, such as what we have in Curwensville.”
Pueblo’s in-river engineering design is also comparable to the whitewater park proposal for Clearfield.
The park has eight drops and is approximately a half-mile long, with the south bank having the world’s largest mural that tells the story of the town’s history and culture past, present and future.
While Swales does believe the proposed whitewater park in Clearfield could have multiple drop features, he doesn’t believe it would be feasible to have as many as eight but ultimately that will be determined during the engineering and design phase.
“… We really want to make sure the project is done so it ties in nicely with the Clearfield Riverwalk, creating an additional riverwalk trail system in proximity to the Raftmen’s Dam from the Nichols Street Bridge on both sides of the river so there’s more public access to the water.”
Swales said his last stop—Cañon City—did not disappoint as its park had a “ton of features,” and he feels it’s an ideal model for Curwensville along with the parks in Golden and Lyons.
However, all six of the whitewater recreation parks that Swales visited have design elements and features that could possibly be incorporated at both Clearfield and Curwensville park locations.
Designs would also allow for “safe passages” for slow-moving, or “lazy fish,” such as the smallmouth bass, plus maintenance, if not restoration of, local wildlife.
Whitewater recreation parks have a wide variety of uses and—believe it or not—in reality only one out of every seven visitors gets wet.
What are some uses?
Families gather for picnics. Others sunbathe, enjoy a book or even do their homework while others go for a walk, jog or do some biking along the trail systems.
Some are just there to take in the sights or bird watch.
And, of course, many are there for water recreation—whether they are fishing, wading/swimming, tubing/rafting, paddling or kayaking.
What ages do these whitewater recreation parks attract? Well, according to Swales’ observations, ages 3 to 80 years-plus.
“It was amazing to see.”
Swales estimates the engineering and design process will last 14 or 15 months, and wants municipal stakeholders of both the Clearfield and Curwensville communities to remain engaged throughout the process.
It would not only make the county a tremendous river recreation hub for central Pennsylvania and a place of destination, but it would also have a significant spill over into the local economy via hotel stays, dining, shopping and so on, said Swales.
In fact, a 2016 economic impact study showed that Skowhegan, Maine’s Run of River Whitewater Park would generate a direct economic impact of nearly $6 million in spending in its first year and up to $19 million in its 10th year.
“By removal of these two low-head dams, we would take what’s currently a community hazard and make it a community asset with these whitewater recreation parks,” said Swales.
“And, they would be the first [of their kind] for Pennsylvania, really putting Clearfield and Curwensville on the map for outdoor recreation as they would expand trail systems and a river trail.”
As engineers develop park designs, Clearly Ahead will identify and secure state and federal funding sources for construction of both whitewater recreation parks.
The goal is to have both parks 100 percent grant funded and to minimize municipal interest carrying costs when it’s time for construction.
Swales estimates that construction would cost a minimum of $5 million for each park.
Swales said with the construction of these parks, there’s an interest in development of an interpretative river trail system with placards/signage that would tell the story of the county’s rich lumber heritage, and—over time—it could be completed from Cherry Tree to Buttermilk Falls near the Clearfield/Centre County line in partnership with the Susquehanna Greenway Partnership, Lumber Heritage Region and local historians.