BAKERSVILLE -- There's not as much water as there used to be in Laurel Hill Creek, said Clair Saylor, who has lived along the pools and riffles of the pretty little trout stream for all of his 64 years.

He knows this because more often than not he doesn't get his feet wet when following stepping stones across the creek in Somerset County. And he's worried that the flow will be further diminished by a proposal to siphon off another 108,000 gallons a day for a commercial water bottling operation.

"The only way I can monitor the amount of water in the creek is to count the number of stones exposed across the creek," Mr. Saylor said. "By that measure we're already in crisis. There's only so much you can take out, and if you allow them to take more out what will it do?"

Mr. Saylor was one of more than 100 Laurel Highlands residents who attended a recent state Department of Environmental Protection meeting on the Cooper Springs Trout Hatchery's proposal to draw and sell water to commercial bottlers from an artesian well near Shaffer Run, a major tributary in the upper reaches of the Laurel Hill Creek watershed.

About 20 people testified, all of them opponents of the commercial water-use project that they said would hurt creek flows and fish populations, and diminish flows to residential and municipal wells. They also contend that having school buses sharing the narrow country road along Shaffer Run with 14 water trucks each day would be unsafe.

Laurel Hill Creek, which flows into the Youghiogheny River, is a popular fishing, swimming, canoeing and kayaking venue. In April, it was named one of the nation's 10 most endangered rivers by American Rivers, a national river advocacy organization, because of existing water withdrawals by communities, state prisons and businesses, and the threat of more.

American Rivers based its rating on state Water Resource Management Plan data developed by the United States Geological Survey. The data calculates the watershed's total existing withdrawals at 2 million gallons a day -- already exceeding the calculated daily safe withdrawal level of 1.4 million gallons by 600,000 gallons a day.

"Over time there's been less flow in the watershed, and, yes, there is less water because of the withdrawals," said Dan Galeone, a USGS hydrogeologist working on the flow issue. "We haven't conducted a study of how much those lower flows are affecting the aquatic resources, nobody has, but the potential for stress is there.

"The concern is that if it is stressed any more, you could be looking at problems like fish kills due to lower flows and warmer water."

Mr. Galeone said the safe thing to do would be to set up a USGS gauging station on Shaffer Run to get long-term water flow data before making a decision on the commercial bottled water proposal. That approach is endorsed by the Mountain Watershed Association and Youghiogheny Riverkeeper, two local environmental groups.

Youghiogheny Riverkeeper head Krissy Kasserman, who along with the Chestnut Ridge Chapter of Trout Unlimited, nominated Laurel Hill Creek to be placed on the American Rivers listing, said water usage already exceeds the USGS-calculated "safe yield" for the basin. Additional water withdrawals would cause additional damage, she said.

In recent years, water quality in the creek has deteriorated during warm weather and fish stocking has been suspended. Water quality is degraded further by agricultural and septic system runoff and exacerbated by low stream flow.

Further complicating the Cooper Springs permit request is a pending water allocation request by Seven Springs Municipal Authority to withdraw 55,000 gallons a day from the watershed and a renewal of Somerset Borough Municipal Authority's 50-year permit to remove 1.75 million gallons a day.

Jack Beals, Cooper Springs Trout Hatchery owner, received a $146,000 state tourism grant to develop the hatchery and water well resource in November 2005. He did not return phone calls seeking comment.

But Jeff Evers, a hydrogeologist hired by Mr. Beals to assess the impact of the proposed water withdrawal, said his 52-hour pumping test on the well drilled into an aquifer in the Burgoon Sandstone formation, showed no impact on Shaffer Run or the nearby water supply wells of the Somerset Borough Municipal Authority.

The test, which pumped 75 gallons per minute, did lower water levels in several nearby residential water wells, but not significantly, Mr. Evers said.

Neither Jack Dirienzo, the borough's solicitor, nor those in attendance who live along the creek were convinced.

"I don't think the impact on Laurel Hill Creek has been determined and the same for the borough's wells, which weren't monitored, and which I'm not convinced were adequately tested," Mr. Dirienzo said.

If DEP does permit the hatchery to withdraw water for bottling, it will do so with conditions, including a requirement to monitor stream flows for up to two years, said Deborah McDonald, the agency's water supply manager.

Joseph DeNardo, a Pittsburgh real estate developer and fly fisherman with a second home on Shaffer Run, three-quarters of a mile from the hatchery well, said residents will have serious concerns about sight lines and safety if large water trucks travel sub-par roads. They also have questions about deterioration of property values.

"The physical infrastructure issues raised by this permit application have not been acknowledged by DEP," Mr. DeNardo said. "If they are going to do this, they should build a whole new road system."

He said Shaffer Run homeowners have established a legal defense fund and will appeal the water-withdrawal permit if DEP grants it.

James Courtney, a Somerset attorney whose family has owned property on Laurel Hill Creek for three generations, last year saw stream flows so low that his family was able to place a picnic table on dry land in the middle of the stream bed. He boiled the water-withdrawal issue down to a single question:

"How is it possible to consider taking any water for commercial purposes out of a watershed in crisis?" Mr. Courtney asked.

"Of all the streams in the country they could take water for bottling out of they ask for it here, as though it's a standard, normal, run-of-the-mill watershed," he said. "This is one of the most beautiful and most endangered watersheds in the state. Defend the watershed is all we ask."

DEP spokeswoman Helen Humphreys said a decision on the permit will not be made until after the public comment period ends July 22. She said DEP permit reviewers have requested additional information from Mr. Beals and will meet with USGS hydrologists in the coming weeks to review data.

"We're looking at this permit application very closely," Ms. Humphreys said, "and are certainly considering what impact the request for this withdrawal will have on the watershed."

The public may comment on the Cooper Springs water-withdrawal permit application by submitting written comments to Bharati Vajjhala, Water Supply Environmental Engineer, DEP Southwest Regional Office, 400 Waterfront Dr., Pittsburgh, 15222.