Nov. 30—MORGANTOWN — In February 2015, the Morgantown Utility Board made public its plan to build a new reservoir on 125 acres along Cobun Creek Road.
About 15 minutes later, people started inquiring about the recreational opportunities at the location.
This all took a long time.
The Morgantown City Council has approved a $1,557,400 contract with North Carolina-based Nature Trails LLC to build what city engineer Drew Gatlin has described as “a Goldilocks project.”
“The contractor who bid on the project is about as qualified as they come for the project. So that’s excellent. They have a very good reputation around the world for doing trail work and they’re big enough to do trail contractors to do as well,” he said. “It’s a rare combination.”
Preliminary planning for the project includes five miles of multi-use dirt trails and four bridge crossings.
According to the city: “We anticipate one main loop will circle the reservoir, starting at the current boat ramp and ending below the dam at a large parking lot. Several sections of slightly narrower, more singletrack-oriented stacked loops will form a secondary system for users to explore the higher elevations and more wooded areas of the reservoir.”
A pedestrian walkway along the waterfront is planned at the southern end of the reservoir and will serve as access to the main fishing area.
After just under five years of construction, MUB was approved to begin filling the 370 million gallon secondary water source in January 2023.
Eight months later, the West Virginia Department of Natural Resources began a multi-year process to stock the area with fish. Approximately 3,500 baitfish were added in September 2023. A month later, 24,000 bluegill were introduced. Bass were added last summer, and catfish and black crappie are scheduled for 2025, according to a stocking schedule previously provided by MUB.
Because the reservoir is primarily a drinking water source, no motorized boats or vessels are allowed on the water.
In addition to fishing, Gatlin said future phases could include additional trail miles, fishing piers/docks, restroom facilities and launch areas for personal, non-motorized watercraft.
Once the recreational facilities are present, they fall under the control of BOPARC.
“We will have staff on site regularly monitoring the trails, and that will be much like our other trails in terms of checking for maintenance issues, vandalism, ensuring passage is safe, etc.,” said Melissa Wiles , executive director of BOPARC. Explaining the reservoir property will be BOPARC’s first venture outside the boundaries of Morgantown.
She said the project is “a new element within our system that will require planning for the possibility of additional staffing, supplies and other associated costs.”
For those who know the history, the reservoir project, and specifically the gravity-fed pipeline through White Park that draws water from the site to MUB’s treatment plant, caused significant friction between MUB, the city and BOPARC. .
While there is still an MUB-funded project coming to White Park as a result of those negotiations, that is largely water under the bridge at this point.
“We are confident that we can bring this under budget and that it will be a great asset to the community,” said Assistant City Manager Emily Muzzarelli. “Obviously it’s a bit out of town, but like the Botanical Gardens and some other areas in the area, this will be a great asset to the community.”
Jenny Selin, a longtime city councilor and BOPARC member, agreed.
“It’s really cool that we’re going to benefit from this and not only will we have nice, fresh water, we’ll have people to enjoy it and the public to enjoy the investment that they’ve made. in this additional water source,” Selin said. “I feel really good tonight that this is moving forward.”
