Hi All, I used to be in charge of Engineering at the PWSA and was the Project Manager for the Highland Reservoir Membrane Filtration Plant and the Babbling Brook. From the work I�ve done at the Reservoir, I have a good knowledge of the issues involved. Since I no longer work for the PWSA and since I live in the Highland Park area, I have a vested interest in keeping the Park in good order. All that being said, on to �� The trees around the reservoir. What a mess. Those trees are beautiful. They make the walk around the Reservoir very pleasant. Unfortunately, they never should have been planted. The leaves contaminate the water and the trees and their roots endanger the stability of the reservoir itself. Since I live downhill from the Reservoir, the idea of the embankment being damaged does not make me happy. The problem comes if a storm blows one of the trees over in such a way that it creates a small breach in the embankment. Such breaches grow rapidly � the Johnstown Flood resulted from such a breach. While I�d love to see the Oaks stay, for public health and safety, they need to go. John E. Kasper, P.E. Bill Bollendorf <macondo@telerama.com> wrote: Hi All, I was not able to make it to the meeting the other night but a neighbor tells me that 14 mature oak trees are to be cut down within the next few days in the area of the front steps that go up to the reservoir. This will be done to remedy the problem of those nasty leaves blowing into the water. Seems like an extreme solution to the problem to me. Does anyone know who we can call to express our feelings on the matter? Bill Bollendorf 5536 Bryant St. Pittsburgh, PA 15206 www.artshaitian.com 412-661-1498 -- "It is the duty of the patriot to protect his country from its government." - Thomas Paine �The modern patriotism, the true patriotism, the only rational patriotism is loyalty to the nation all the time, and loyalty to the government when it deserves it.� - Mark Twain "When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown-up" --C.S. Lewis