It was a scary night last night for about 80 families that live below the Speedwell Forge Lake Dam. The rain from Sandy breached the spillway forcing the county to order an evacuation.
This was a very unnerving situation and not just for the people who live on the other side of this dam. You see the dam is a 50-year-old structure and last year it was declared so unsafe that the lake it held back had to be drained. With all of the rain we just got from Sandy, the dam is filling back up and the houses below it are at risk.
Evelyn Bergey is one of the residents who lives under the dam, “I’m much more optimistic. We just love living here. We know there is always a chance that nature will do something unexpected.”
But Evelyn and Dick Bergey could not imagine living anywhere but here. “Most of the time, living here is just absolutely great. You can’t beat it. So, you take the bad with the good," Dick said.
But over the past year, the bad has become much worse. The couple lives below the Dam, which last year – after Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee – was damaged and forced the lake to be drained. As the state wrestles with how and when to repair the dam, a second spillway was built to control flood waters. The only problem, it’s not finished. So when rain from Sandy starting filing the lake yesterday the houses below had to be evacuated.
Raymond Bednarchik: Fish and Boat Commission
“It was just a precautionary measure," explained Raymond Bednarchik of the Fish and Boat Commission. "Based on some of the predictions that were out there, yesterday about really heavy rain fall and really terrible weather, the feeling was error on the side of caution.”
Now, state inspectors are looking to see if more damage was done.
“As far as the lake itself, it was a big selling point in us moving here," Evelyn said. "We have enjoyed it tremendously. We will stay here and just hope – and we have faith – the fish commission and the government will soon remedy the situation.”
The Bergey’s went to their daughter’s house for the night in Camp Hill, after they were evacuated.
According to the Fish and Boat Commission, it will take four or five years before the dam is repaired and the lake is refilled. The funding is there, but the process is slow.
This was a very unnerving situation and not just for the people who live on the other side of this dam. You see the dam is a 50-year-old structure and last year it was declared so unsafe that the lake it held back had to be drained. With all of the rain we just got from Sandy, the dam is filling back up and the houses below it are at risk.
Evelyn Bergey is one of the residents who lives under the dam, “I’m much more optimistic. We just love living here. We know there is always a chance that nature will do something unexpected.”
But Evelyn and Dick Bergey could not imagine living anywhere but here. “Most of the time, living here is just absolutely great. You can’t beat it. So, you take the bad with the good," Dick said.
But over the past year, the bad has become much worse. The couple lives below the Dam, which last year – after Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee – was damaged and forced the lake to be drained. As the state wrestles with how and when to repair the dam, a second spillway was built to control flood waters. The only problem, it’s not finished. So when rain from Sandy starting filing the lake yesterday the houses below had to be evacuated.
Raymond Bednarchik: Fish and Boat Commission
“It was just a precautionary measure," explained Raymond Bednarchik of the Fish and Boat Commission. "Based on some of the predictions that were out there, yesterday about really heavy rain fall and really terrible weather, the feeling was error on the side of caution.”
Now, state inspectors are looking to see if more damage was done.
“As far as the lake itself, it was a big selling point in us moving here," Evelyn said. "We have enjoyed it tremendously. We will stay here and just hope – and we have faith – the fish commission and the government will soon remedy the situation.”
The Bergey’s went to their daughter’s house for the night in Camp Hill, after they were evacuated.
According to the Fish and Boat Commission, it will take four or five years before the dam is repaired and the lake is refilled. The funding is there, but the process is slow.