Dumping at Que concerns officials

BY MIKE FAHER
The Tribune-Democrat

HOLLSOPPLE June 06, 2009 12:24 am

— Since Quemahoning Reservoir opened to the public in 2000, it has become a playground for anglers and other outdoor enthusiasts.
But officials say the lake also is increasingly becoming a magnet for those who want to illegally dispose of large quantities of trash.
Aside from the normal litter, officials and volunteers are finding appliances, furniture, tires and other debris strewn throughout the shoreline and sunk in the water.
“It’s disheartening to see that we’re getting the same volume and maybe even more every year,” said Tom Kakabar, Cambria Somerset Authority operations manager.
The authority, which owns five area dams, this week lauded Jerome Sportsman’s Association for its volunteer work at the Quemahoning – including the group’s annual garbage collection around the reservoir’s substantial shoreline.
It’s proven to be a surprisingly big undertaking, said Ron Telenko, one of the association’s directors.
“Our first year, it floored me,” Telenko said.
Gathering trash has turned into a major event, complete with a picnic for volunteers afterward. The group picks up plenty of old tires, plus a wide array of other junk.
“We’ve got couches, we’ve got love seats,” Telenko said. “We get everything imaginable. We had an old gas stove one time.”
He added that volunteers also found a car underwater.
The amount of illegally discarded refuse is nothing new. Authority officials say the problem is worst near the Green Bridge at the reservoir’s southern end.
Kakabar said officials do not experience anywhere near the same volume of dumping at the authority’s two other large reservoirs, Hinckston Run and Wilmore in Cambria County.
He speculates that the Que’s access roads “make it convenient” for those who are inclined to drop off truckloads of trash.
The reservoir is patrolled in part by Conemaugh Township police as well as the state Fish and Boat Commission and the state Game Commission.
Citations are issued when possible, said Emil Svetahor, a regional manager for the Fish Commission’s Somerset office.
But, he added, “the trouble is, if you don’t catch them in the act ...”
Svetahor said he applauds volunteer groups that help clean up the mess, adding that the issue is not limited to the Quemahoning.
“It’s a problem at a lot of our lakes,” Svetahor said. “Our guys go out, and they pick up truckloads.”
But Telenko, whose association also has assisted the authority with habitat work at the Quemahoning, said he cannot understand why local residents would want to turn the pristine reservoir into a dumping ground.
“For the life of me, I can’t figure that out,” he said.