The Altoona Water Authority has learned too late that it must be extra-vigilant regarding the inflatable rubber dams employed to increase water capacity at Lake Altoona and the Impounding Dam near Horseshoe Curve.

Apparently, the authority, about seven years ago, put too much faith in the quality claims put forth regarding rubber dams made in China that ended up being installed locally.

These current rubber dams are “clearly inferior,” said authority general manager Mark Perry.

That’s indicative of the possibility that seven years ago not enough attention was given to quality comparison.

That observation shouldn’t be construed as criticism because the authority has not had a vast array of instances in the past where it had to judge the quality of such dams.

Considering what has been encountered with the current dams, though, that won’t — or at least should not — be a defense going forward.

That’s especially true considering the cost of replacing the current dams if, in the end, that would be necessary.

Perry and consulting engineer Mark Glenn have estimated that materials and installation of the two new rubber dams in question could involve an expenditure of about $750,000.

Because virtually everything increases in price from year to year, doing the project correctly now, if it is in fact necessary, could save water customers considerable money in the future.

Kicking the proverbial can down the road doesn’t in the end achieve savings; someone else just has to pay more later, or in many cases, much more much later.

Recall what is happening regarding the new Blair County Prison project — a project ignored for decades under the guise of fiscal responsibility but now a fiscal monstrosity because of what amounted to irresponsible-ignoring of its always important need.

The current county commissioners are not deserving of blame for financial challenges — higher taxes — that the new prison might require.

Water authority members need to make the right decisions now, in 2026, knowing that their decisions won’t be worthy of criticism five, 10, 15, — however many — years, going forward.

The current situation surrounding the inflatable rubber dams in place for about seven years came about unexpectedly. As reported in the Mirror’s May 23-24 edition, “an authority worker who noticed a compressor running more frequently than normal at the Impounding Dam conducted a leak test on the rubber dam there that proved positive, and officials have noticed ‘serious signs of decay and rubber cracking’ on the dams.”

All considered, that vigilant employee deserves a lot of credit for being proactive in the handling of the situation and alerting superiors.

In preparation for a possible replacement project, consulting engineer Glenn, according to the Mirror’s May 23-24 report, has reached out to a company in Germany that manufactures rubber dams.

If there are other possible suppliers, their products should be evaluated also.

As for the company in China that manufactured the problem dams currently in place, were there any claims made at the time of the purchase that can be challenged from at least a partial reimbursement standpoint at this time?

The rubber dams that were replaced by the current ones lasted 30 to 35 years and reportedly still were operable even then. Those previous dams, which were manufactured by a Japanese company, were replaced only because of their age.

The Japanese company no longer makes rubber dams.

The authority should continue to apprise customers of developments related to the rubber dams, including about whether replacement would have any effects on water service.