New York City is spending about $1 million to partially fund a federal study of a dam along the Lehigh River, and many Pennsylvania residents want to know why.

On Thursday, Pennsylvania state legislators got a chance to question the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, who is conducting the study, as well as the project’s co-sponsors: the Delaware River Basin Commission and the New York City Department of Environmental Protection.

“We want to be sure that as these studies go forward, that the voices of those who represent this are going to be heard,” said State Rep. Doyle Heffley, R-Carbon.

The multiyear study is exploring whether Frances E. Walter could take a larger role during droughts to keep saltwater from coming up the Delaware River to Philadelphia.

New York City’s reservoirs on the Upper Delaware play a large role in managing the so-called ‘salt front’ and they want other reservoirs in the Delaware Watershed to help.

“Recent modeling indicates that fighting the salt front with New York City’s reservoirs alone is not an effective or efficient use of water. To be clear, we do not believe that water from our reservoirs alone will be enough to push the salt front back during the longest, most severe droughts that we can expect in the future,” said Jennifer Garigliano, Chief of Staff for NYC DEP.

The city has no plans to use the Lehigh as a source of drinking water according to Dr. Dan Hughes, project manager for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The study initially considered a number of changes to the dam to help repel the salt front.

They included raising the height of the dam, but that option has been ruled out, Hughes said. The project is currently focused on looking at storing more water behind the existing dam.

Hughes added that one of the purposes of the study is to see how the proposed changes that will affect the environment and economy of communities upstream and downstream of the dam, including recreation.

One of the big local concerns about the project has been the effect on white water rafting along the Lehigh.

Hughes said he believes that the study could create the opportunity for more white water releases, not fewer.

During the hearing, some lawmakers questioned if the study will be biased because of the involvement of New York City and the Delaware River Basin Commission.

“They want the water, they’re participating in the study, that’s potentially problematic,” said State Rep. Eric Nelson, R-Westmoreland.

Hughes pledged that the study will be objective.

He added that just because there is a study, does not mean that the dam’s role will change.

“It’s worth noting that some Army Corps studies result in a no-action recommendation; some result in a recommended plan but don’t get authorized by Congress; and some recommendations get authorized by Congress but are not funded and do not get built or implemented. But our job is to go through the process using sound science,” he said.