Every state park in the Pennsylvania finds itself in the same tight spot on the trail — a need to replace infrastructure and a lack of funding to do it.

Moraine State Park is no exception, according to Dustin Drew, park manager.

“(Infrastructure) is the backbone of what we want and need to do,” Drew said.

The Pennsylvania Parks and Forests Foundation recently published a 45-page report about the backlog of infrastructure projects piling up across the state's parks.

“I think we fit well into that argument like the majority of the other parks,” Drew said. “I think it spans even beyond Pennsylvania.”

The report blames cuts in staffing and budgets for the backlog that stands at $1 billion between 121 parks with 300,000 acres and a state forest system with 2.2 million acres, according to the report's recent calculations.

“Adequate funds have not been appropriated to rehabilitate or upgrade existing facilities and other infrastructure that are aging, such as roofs, sewer and water facilities and roads,” the report said.

Recreation facilities and resource management comprise the majority of these needs — a total of $546 million, according to the report. The category includes such work as invasive plant and hazardous tree removal, abandoned mine remediation and maintenance of recreation buildings — for example, ski areas, marinas and picnic areas.

For Moraine, the main focus of infrastructure in recent years and for the future revolves around water and roads.

The wastewater treatment plant received a major overhaul last year. The state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources further improved the facility with solar panels to power the plant.

Drew said the panels started supplying power to the plant in December, but employees won't see the benefit until spring and summer arrive.

He said the sewage system had been in the park's plans for years, as are its current projects in replacing the wastewater lines on the North Shore and drinking water lines throughout the park.

“We maintain a project database that lists all the projects that we've identified,” Drew said.

But Moraine has had to wait years for the funding for some projects, especially those in the hands of other state departments.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation completed a project that made it easier to access the park from Interstate 79 and Route 422. The $4.5 million project was on the PennDOT's waitlist for more than 20 years.

Drew said a number of the infrastructure needs inside the park are related to age. Moraine has begun preparations to celebrate its 50th birthday.

“A lot of the life span has been reached or exceeded for the original infrastructure,” Drew said. “I think that's adding to the challenge.”

Drew said park employees try to avoid idealizing, focusing instead on the job at hand.

“Let's upgrade what we have and make it newer and better,” Drew said.