HARRISBURG - Planned repairs to the inflatable dam on the Susquehanna River will shorten the 2012 boating season at Shikellamy State Park, the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) announced.
The repair work on the Adam T. Bower Memorial Inflatable Dam is timed to take advantage of favorable weather and river-flow conditions as DCNR embarks on major construction at the 2,100 foot-long dam forming Lake Augusta.
Replacement of one of the dam's seven inflatable bags, repairs to others and construction of a temporary causeway will end Lake Augusta's boating season on Aug. 19. Normally, lake boating continues into the first week of October.
"We want to get this news out to the dedicated Lake Augusta boaters who often plan their summer boating and mooring schedules well in advance," Bureau of State Parks Director John Norbeck said. "While we recognize the economic vitality that lake users bring to the region, we have a very narrow 'weather window' in which to work, and starting work after late August could put the project at risk."
Inflation of the dam is scheduled to begin in mid-May to be ready for area boaters for the Memorial Day holiday weekend. Deflation will occur approximately three months later. Fluctuating river conditions and increasing flow rates remain a possibility and have interrupted repair efforts in prior years.
The dam forms the 3,000-acre body of water between Northumberland and Snyder counties.
Historic low flow in the Susquehanna at Sunbury occurs during the summer months, Norbeck said, and river conditions and weather should combine for safe and expedient repairs. Dam deflation, construction of a temporary causeway and repair and replacement of damaged air bags should take about six weeks.
For details on Lake Augusta boating and mooring in 2012, contact Shikellamy State Park at 998-5557.