Bear Creek Lakes Annual Dam Inspection

Environmental Consulting Services

Hanover Engineering provides annual dam inspection services to Bear Creek Lakes Civic Association located in Penn Forest Township, Carbon County, PA. Bear Creek Lakes is a residential community consisting of permanent residences and vacation homes surrounding a 160 acre man-made lake, which provides both recreational and aesthetic value to the community.

Due to the lake’s size and its proximity to the residential structures located down- stream, the lake’s dam is classified by the Department of Environmental Protection as a high hazard dam, and therefore must be inspected annually by an experienced professional engineer. The dam inspection consists of a site visit to complete a detailed review of the working components of the valves and outlet structures, as well as a review of the overall condition of the dam to ensure no structural deficiencies have developed that may lead to a failure.

The Bear Creek Lakes dam is located in an area which contains several emergent springs just downstream of the dam’s embankment. The flow from these springs is monitored regularly using a series of weirs, since any abnormal increase in weir flow suggests the presence of seepage through the dam which could be a potential hazard. Inspecting for signs of seepage along the dam and conduits is one of the important items completed during the annual dam inspection.