Slow Progress Reported on Fogelsville Dam Repair

A Keystone Consulting Engineers official told Upper Macungie Supervisors last week his firm is still seeking state grants in order to reduce the height of the Fogelsville Dam.

Engineer Dean Haas said the township has received one grant to mitigate the creek upstream from the dam. 

"We're still in the process of trying to reduce the height of the dam," Haas told Patch. "The [Department of Environmental Protection] recommends that we do this over a period of time, as not to disturb wildlife. We're still looking for two different grants."

The state has Fogelsville Dam on Haasadahl Road listed as a high hazard dam and wants it fixed or removed.

That, according to some estimates, could cost the township up to $2 million.

But a partial breaching of the dam might take it off the “high hazard” list while saving the township from the expense of full removal.

Breaching the dam – removing the barrier that holds the water back – could be especially costly because the dam helps hold up Haasadahl Road, so it can’t be removed without extensive work to the road.