National Dam Inspection Program. Lower Owl Creek Dam (NDS ID Number PA 00674, DER ID Number 54-2) Delaware River Basin, Owl Creek, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. Phase I Inspection Report

摘要

Lower Owl Creek Dam is owned by the Borough of Tamaqua, and the reservoir is used for water supply purposes. The original dam was built in 1882 or 1883, and several major renovations have been performed since, the latest being in 1928. The visual inspection disclosed that the emergency spillway has been partially filled in. The embankment is currently in good condition, and the siphon spillway is in fair condition. In accordance with criteria established by Federal (OCE) Guidelines, the recommended spillway design flood for this 'Small' size dam and 'High' hazard classification is one-half to the full Probable Maximum Flood (PMF). The one-half PMF has been selected as the spillway design flood. Hydrologic and hydraulic computations presented in Appendix D indicate that the combined siphon and emergency spillway structures are capable of discharging about 21 percent of the PMF without overtopping the embankment under existing conditions. If the emergency spillway was restored to its original condition, the spillway systems would be capable of discharging about 59 percent of the PMF without overtopping the embankment. As the structure will not pass the spillway design flood under existing conditions and is not assessed to fail during one-half the PMF, the spillway is considered to be 'Inadequate' but not 'Seriously Inadequate'. (Author)