Beltzville dam tower opens up to educate explorers

Sightseers recently got a rare opportunity to explore the dam tower at Beltzville Lake, and see how the structure plays an integral role in the local watershed.

Organized by Cynthia Kurket, environmental education specialist at Beltzville State Park, and led by Pat Cannon, dam operator with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Philadelphia District, the tour allowed participants to explore the normally closed-off structure at the southwest end of the lake.

“This helps with the watershed,” Kurket said. “Basically, here at Beltzville, the water flows into the Pohopoco, the Pohopoco then flows into the Lehigh, then the Lehigh flows out into the Delaware, out in the basin, the mouth of the river, into the Atlantic Ocean.

It’s very important that we have dams like these to help with flood control, and also when we have periods of drought and the salinity of the water kind of pushes up, it kind of helps control that so that we can keep our wetlands and marshlands the way they should be.”

Started in 1962 when Congress approved the project as part of a Delaware River Basin Flood Control Plan, the dam was completed by the Corps in 1971. It is a multipurpose project, providing flood control, water supply, and recreation opportunities. The dam’s outlet works consist of a concrete circular conduit, 7 feet in diameter, 1,263 feet long, with two sets of flood control gates and one water quality control gate, according to the Corps website.

The control tower, the highlight of the tour, was an engineering marvel upon its construction, allowing for careful temperature and salinity control that benefits the watershed and its inhabitants.

“Now, Beltzville has something interesting here in the control tower. It was one-of-a-kind when this was built. We have a selective withdraw system with eight portals at different elevations, and we can take water from different elevations for temperature purposes. In the summer, we take from the lower elevations to keep the temperature lower with the colder water at the bottom,” Cannon said.

Starting with a short lecture and fact-finding quiz on the dam, the group took off from the overlook adjacent to the Bird Blind Trail, marching across the stretch of the dam blocked off by a huge guardrail.

“It’s supposed to be able to stop a tractor-trailer,” Cannon said, before stopping at another blockade for the bridge.

The dam, Cannon explained to the group as they walked across the structure, is an earthen type, constructed from various layers of stone and other natural materials, carefully selected to maintain a strong border against the lake.

Standing upon the level outside the dam provides a breathtaking view of the lake, water shimmering in the midmorning sunlight. It’s rather difficult to believe that this whole area was constructed by man.

Looking down from the narrow metallic spiral staircase within the tower is not recommended for those with a fear of heights, as the drop to the bottom is about 170 feet.

Most of the dam’s functions can easily be controlled through a main panel in the operator’s room, where workers take measurements and log water levels, pressure, and so on. Adjustments to ports, each four square feet, can be made in order to control the water flow. If a flood occurs, the dam can hold back that flow, with Beltzville Lake capable of holding almost nine billion gallons of water. The lake elevation is computed in feet, and based on the North American Vertical Datum, which is relatively comparable to the sea level.

“We’re at 627.98, so I’ve got to make a gauge change today, cut back and bring it up a little bit,” Cannon said.

A lot of rain had fallen before the tour.

“We had all that rain, and all that water that’s coming in is dropping off, so I’ve got to chase that down almost day to day.”

In the event of a flood, the bulkhead gate, an emergency gate, and a service gate can be raised or lowered to control flow.

“They were very informative describing the release of the gates and the various levels, letting the water out at different times of the year. Also, the little scavenger hunt sheet that they handed out was interesting and informative. I feel it was a unique opportunity to get the privilege to go out there and view the tower, especially with all of the Homeland Security, that they even gave us that opportunity to see the inside of the tower and how it operated,” said Lehighton resident Glenn Bauchspies, who took the tour with his wife Crystal.

As the group meandered down the way, the presence of a limestone buildup on the walls went from a spotty decoration to a thick, waxy coating. Cannon pointed out that engineers had evaluated the buildup and found it to be relatively harmless, a consequence of the water slowly seeping and filtering through the concrete walls.

Nearing the bottom of the tower is the water analysis room, and situated beneath that is a gate chamber which is usually restricted due to size constraints.

“We’re somewhere around 80 feet underwater at this point,” Cannon said.

After everyone had their fill of the tower tour, the group was escorted back to the conservation center, with Cannon jumping right back in to provide an employee tour.

Tour attendees were thrilled with the chance to investigate the tower, getting a peak inside a structure that some of them actually witnessed being constructed. Palmerton resident Russell Schwab, whose son had worked as a park ranger at Beltzville during college, always held an interest in the dam control tower.

“I always wondered about it. For six years, he was trying to get me over there, and he could never go over himself,” Schwab said. “This was a big deal. It was awesome.” Russell Schwab said.

Overall, the tour was a great success, and it may result in future explorations of the area for curious parties.

“Future engineers, school students, Eagle Scouts, this would be a perfect tour for them to see,” Kurket said. “I think Beltzville has a lot of neat things for people to do and see, and a lot of it is here because of the Army Corps of Engineers creating the reservoir.”