Lyman Run dam refilling delayed
Park awaiting Dept. of Environmental Protection approval

Filling of the popular lake at Lyman Run State Park has been delayed, pending the go-ahead from the Pa. Dept. of Environmental Protection.

Meanwhile, other park improvements, including modern restrooms with shower facilities at two campgrounds, should be ready for operation by mid-October.

An engineering report supplied by Lehigh University this summer called for the patching of surface cracks on the new dam before the Pa. Dept. of Environmental Protection gives the go-ahead to restore the 40- acre Lyman Lake. Sealing should take just a few days, Harrison said.

The park was once a premier tourist attraction, drawing about 130,000 visitors a year. However, the lake was drained in 2000 after structural deficiencies were detected in the dam. The state approved $17 million for the new dam in 2004.

Once the refill order is issued, tiny Lyman Run and other water sources will fill the impoundment over a period of three to four months.

Plans call for the lake to increase in depth by about one foot per day for the first 13 days, after which time the filling will be suspended while inspections are performed. Another five feet will be then be added, followed by more checks. If all is well, the lake restoration will then be completed.

The new dam is 50 feet high and 1,000 feet long. A previous dam had stood since the early 1950s, creating a coldwater lake that was popular with trout anglers, boaters and swimmers.