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Former lake set to open in April

Dam complete; Glade Run filling

MIDDLESEX TWP — The construction of the new Glade Run Lake dam is complete and while the lake is refilling, the finishing touches are being added at the property off Overbrook Road.

“I’m elated,” said Siggy Pehel, president of the Glade Run Lake Conservancy.

Pehel said the lake will be reopened by the first day of the trout fishing season in April, and lake enthusiasts and anglers can attend a grand reopening that will be held before season opens.

Anglers will be permitted to keep the trout caught during the season, he said, but must release any other fish back into the lake.

“The conservancy and the (state) Fish and Boat Commission are working together to have a long catch-and-release program so the fish population can grow,” Pehel said. “It will probably be three to four years until there is good fishing at the lake.”

The lake was drained in 2011 by the Fish and Boat Commission because its dam was deemed a hazard to properties downstream. The Glade Run Lake Conservancy raised funds and lobbied politicians to get the funding needed to have the dam repaired.

Fish and Boat Commission spokesman Eric Levis said there is now about 10 feet of water in the 52-acre lake.

“We’re waiting to refill the remainder to prevent ice damage of habitat structures,” Levis said.

He explained that commission engineers control the refilling using “stop logs” that are stacked in a strategic area and increased or decreased according to the amount of water they want to enter or be held back from the lake.

Another reason to fill the lake in phases, Levis said, is to gradually apply water pressure to the new dam structure.

The bushes, trees and other growth in the lake bed will be left there to provide fish habitat once the lake refills, Levis said.

At that time, the state Fish and Boat Commission plans to drop more fish habitats in the lake bed, he said.

Pehel said the dam was rebuilt in August and a new spillway added at the lake. In September, workers dug a channel 1,200 feet long, 10 feet deep and 20 feet wide at the bottom and 50 feet wide at the top.

The channel, which is a fish habitat, is expected to increase the fish population in the lake by 30 percent to 35 percent once it is stocked, Pehel said.

The rock from the old dam was used to build a habitat island for turtles and other species.

In late October and early November, a 16-by-32-foot deck that is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act was built at the fishing jetty. The deck is surrounded by aluminum railing, Pehel said.

“It’s a great place for people with disabilities to go and drop a line into the water,” he said.

A concrete ramp leading from the jetty to the ADA deck was completed recently, and a large turnaround at the boat launch will be built this week.

The turnaround area will see an 8-foot walkway leading to the jetty so wounded veterans and others with disabilities can easily navigate from the parking lot to the fishing jetty. Work on the turnaround is scheduled to begin this week.

“It’s going to be very handicapped accessible,” Pehel said.

He said the conservancy also will improve the walking trail at the lake and hopes to convert an older wooden building not being used by the Fish and Boat Commission into an outdoor shelter where anglers and nature lovers can escape the elements in inclement weather.

Pehel said a handful of Eagle Scout projects at the lake that were much appreciated by the conservancy provided a bridge over a swampy area of the trail and signs at various areas around the property.

He said the conservancy was able to afford the fish habitats and accessible jetty because costs for the construction project, which were originally estimated at $4 million, came in under $3 million.

Initially, the conservancy planned to contribute the $250,000 it had raised to the construction project, but was able to spend it on the improvements when the construction costs came in low.

Pehel said the next phase at the lake will be land acquisition around the property’s perimeter that will permit further expansion of the natural area at the lake.

Levis said the formation and hard work of the conservancy is the reason the work at the lake is nearing completion.

“It is a critical component in the whole process,” Levis said of the commission’s work with the conservancy. “We can’t do this type of rebuild without partnerships like theirs.”

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