Tamarack Lake Dam A has been classified as a high hazard dam by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. An emergency action plan has been developed.
The dam is classified specifically as a Hazard Potential Category 1 dam which “present a substantial potential risk to life or property,” according to the Pennsylvania Code.
The classification of high hazard does not mean the dam is in a state of disarray or disrepair, but that if it were to fail the dam has a large inundation area — the downstream area that could be flooded or otherwise affected by a dam failure, according to Operations and Training Officer at Crawford County Department of Public Safety Don Bovard.
Plans like this are typical for any dam with a large population living near it, according to Sergeant Tyler Soety of the FBC. The dam, spillway, control system and the area below the dam will undergo on-site visual inspections at a minimum of every three months by the FBC, according to the plan.
The population of the inundation area is approximately 120 people.
“It’s probably similar to Woodcock,” Soety said, referring to Wood Lake. “The amount of water it’s holding would be similar.”
Tamarack Lake is a 562-acre reservoir that has a maximum depth of about 13 feet deep. Woodcock Lake is a 333-acre reservoir that has a maximum depth of about 15 feet deep.
A dam watch will be put into place when there are severe thunderstorms, heavy rains with local flood warnings, tropical storms and hurricanes, frozen ground and/or snow cover and/or if the National Weather Service issues a flash flood warning.
The dam was redone and the lake refilled in 2019.
“Tamarack Lake was put in there as a flood control,” Jill Dunlap, secretary-treasurer of West Mead Township said, “It’s considered high hazard just because of the population and the land area.”
The emergency action plan is available for public inspection at the following locations: Crawford County Department of Public Safety, 632 Pine St.; West Mead Township Municipal Building, 1150 Morgan Village Rd.; Meadville City Hall, 894 Diamond Park, Vernon Township Municipal Building, 16678 McMath Ave.; Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, 595 East Rolling Ridge Drive Bellefonte, PA 16823 and the commission’s Northwest Law Enforcement Office, 11528 Route 98 Meadville.
