Posted on March 26, 2025
Those who love to fish at Indian Lake Park in North Huntingdon will have to find a new spot when the township drains the lake in the next few years.
North Huntingdon officials plan to apply for a $1.33 million grant for a multi-phase project to dredge the lake and stabilize the Kenda Dam streambank that has been eroding. A covered bridge also will receive new support beams and flooring.
The commissioners last week approved the application for a state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ Community Conservation Partnership Program grant, which is competitive and requires 50% matching funds, said Lydia Kinkaid, township parks and recreation coordinator.
“It’s one of the township’s most treasured amenities. It needs tender-loving care,” Kinkaid said.
The draining of the lake and the dredging of silt that has built up over decades may be done during the construction season in 2027 or 2028, said Robert Robinson, the township’s senior project engineer. The man-made lake is fed by an unnamed tributary of Little Sewickley Creek.
Dredging the lake and repairing the dam will cost about $730,000, Robinson said. Stabilizing the dam streambank will cost an estimated $258,000 and to replace the brown covered bridge over the spillway will cost about $220,000. The engineer said the total estimated costs includes a 10% contingency for inflation.
North Huntingdon has been planning since last year to do repair work on the Kenda Dam. By dredging the lake, it is anticipated that it will help satisfy a part of the township’s requirements for its municipal separate storm sewer system pollution reduction plan.
The township has been working with the state Fish and Boat Commission and its engineering firm, KU Resources of Duquesne, on how to approach the project, Kinkaid said.
Dredging is necessary because of the buildup of silt, said Harry Faulk, township manager.
Based on an underwater survey conducted of the lake, there will be about 10,000 cubic yards of sediment removed, Kinkaid said. It will be allowed to dry, then hauled away.
As part of the project, the invasive plants on the slope of the dam will be removed, Robinson said. The concrete base of the dam will be replaced and the concrete chunks from that spillway may be reused along the spillway streambank to stabilize it.
The township has owned the lake since at least the early 1980s, Robinson said. The dam, built before the township acquired it, is poorly constructed, with mine spoilage used as fill under the dam, resulting in acid mine drainage near the outfall, Robinson said.
The projects should be done in succession so that the fish habitat will be disturbed only once, Robinson said.
By slowly draining the lake, the fish will congregate in one area, making them easier to remove. They are considering relocating the fish to another body of water, Robinson said.
When they undertake that work to remove the fish, Kinkaid said that they will need to find water that is of similar temperature to that of Indian Lake. The township’s Oak Hollow Park has a body of water.
In addition to applying for the state funding, Kinkaid said township could apply for $665,220 from the federal Department of Interior’s Land and Water Conservation Fund. The 16.2-acre park would have to have only outdoor recreation facilities, rather than the township constructing indoor recreation amenities, she said.
The requirements for matching funds to win approval for a grant could be in-kind services that the township provides, rather than money, Robinson said. The township could transfer money from its reserve fund and replace it when it gets grants, Faulk said.
