The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh District awarded a $1.2 million contract to Green World Contracting Co. of Harrison to remove accumulated sediments and vegetation along the Stonycreek River in Cambria County.

The project will allow for unimpeded water flow, which will reduce the risk of flooding.

The work supports the Johnstown Local Flood Protection Project, the nation’s second-largest flood-control project of its type when it was constructed by the Army Corps between 1938 and 1943.

The great Johnstown flood of 1889 was the largest single-day civilian loss of life, at 2,209 deaths, in the country before the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, according to the Johnstown Flood Museum. Other floods occurred in 1936 and 1977.

The Johnstown project is part of three federally maintained local flood-protection projects within the Army Corp’s Pittsburgh District and features a concrete-paved channel that extends more than 9 miles along Johnstown’s three rivers — Conemaugh, Little Conemaugh and Stony­creek.

“The district is absolutely looking forward to leveraging our expertise to remove the sediment and vegetation from this flood control project, which has impeded the effectiveness of the project for years,” said Col. Andrew “Coby” Short, commander of the Pittsburgh District. “Our team is extremely proud to lead this cleanup effort and deliver a more effective project for the Johnstown residents.”

The contract work is estimated to be completed by September 2020.

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