MINERAL RIDGE, Ohio - In it's efforts to secure funding for renovations to the Mineral Ridge Dam at the Meander Resevoir, the Mahoning Valley Sanitary District hosted a meeting with Congressman Bill Johnson on Friday.

"We are looking for support at all levels," Michael McNinch, Chief Engineer for MVSD said.

The Meandor Resevoir is the primary drinking source for about 220,000 people in Mahoning and Trumbull Counties. The 41 million dollar project is needed to bring the nearly 100-year-old dam up to current standards.

Michael McNinch, the Chief Engineer for MVSD explained to Johnson what could happen if a catastrophic rain event occurred.

"At that point the water would be coming over the top of the dam," McNinch said.

The MVSD is being told the dam needs to be able to withstand a rainfall of 19 inches in 24 hours, something WFMJ Chief Meteorologist Eric Wilhelm says is next to impossible. Still, McNinch says the dam needs to be future proofed.

"The best analogy is, you don't put a seat belt on to get into a wreck, you put your seatbelt on in case you get into a wreck," McNinch said. "We want to future proof the dam so if the climate does continue to evolve and change and something catastrophic did happen, that our entire community would be safe."

To pay for a big chuck of the project, the state is applying for a 30 million dollar FEMA grant. They're hoping to get support at the federal level to make that grant a reality, otherwise the cost will be passed on to the water customers.

Congressman Johnson is on board and says the big thing right now is visibility and make more people aware. He also plans to see if any more funding can be found.

"This is real infrastructure," Johnson said. "We'll certainly fight for it, we'll certainly fight for it, you don't need to sell me on the need for it because this is not unlike the water systems or sewer systems throughout Appalachia or throughout my region of the state."

The final grant application for the FEMA grant is due at the first of the year and the MVSD hopes to hear good news by late Spring or early Summer.