Politics & Government
Upper Macungie Gets Grant to Fix Fogelsville Dam
The $100,000 state grant will help Upper Macungie fix the dam, but the supervisors vote to seek additional grant money to complete the project.
Upper Macungie Township has received a $100,000 grant from the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to help repair the Fogelsville Dam.
On Thursday night, the Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to seek an additional grant that would cover the remaining cost of fixing the dam. That amount has not yet been determined.
The state has listed Fogelsville Dam on Haasadahl Road as a “high hazard dam,” and the state Department of Environmental Protection asked Upper Macungie to either fix or remove the dam. The designation “high hazard” refers to the potential for loss of life or property if the dam should break.
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When the Upper Macungie supervisors met in September, Supervisor Kathy Rader said that breaching the dam – removing the barrier that holds the water back – would be costly because the dam helps hold up Haasadahl Road.
Consequently, Rader said, the dam couldn’t be removed without extensive work to the road. She said that could cost about $2 million.
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Instead, township engineer Dean Haas of Keystone Consulting Engineers said in September that the township submitted a grant application to cover the cost of lowering the dam by six feet.
On Thursday, Haas told the supervisors that he expects to soon submit a sketch design to DEP for the partial breach of the dam. Following the meeting, Haas said the full cost of the work isn’t yet determined so he doesn’t know the amount needed in an additional grant to cover the remaining cost.
The Fogelsville Dam was built in 1914 by the Lehigh Portland Cement Co. Lehigh County gave the dam to Upper Macungie, along with some park land, about a decade ago.