The state is offering to pour $665,200 into a major rehabilitation project at North Huntingdon’s 16-acre Indian Lake Park.
The fish in the lake must be relocated so it can be drained, dredged and the Kenda Dam repaired over the next few years.
In return for the money from the state’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ Community Conservation Partnership Program, North Huntingdon will need to provide a match of 50%, said Lydia Kinkaid, township parks and recreation coordinator.
Although North Huntingdon was awarded money for the project, Kinkaid said work will not begin until 2027 as it seeks matching funds this year. The township had estimated the project would cost $1.2 million and would include repairing the pedestrian covered bridge with new support beams and flooring, and stabilizing streambanks.
To obtain those matching funds, North Huntingdon will apply for a Greenways Trails and Recreation Program grant, Kinkaid said. If the township is awarded that state grant, it would be a maximum of $250,000 with the requirement of a 15% match. North Huntingdon also will apply for a Local Share Account grant from revenue of the Live Casino Pittsburgh and grants for municipalities from statewide gambling revenue as well.
The man-made lake needs to be dredged because of silt buildup, said Robert Robinson, township senior engineer.
An underwater survey of the lake determined there will be about 10,000 cubic yards of sediment removed and hauled away once it dries, Kinkaid said.
By slowly draining the lake, the fish will congregate in one area and be easier to move, Robinson said.
When they remove the fish, Kinkaid said 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 for the fish.
Indian Lake is stocked with trout by the Pennsylvania Fish and Game Commission and is one of the very few lakes its size that can support trout, because it has enough depth and flow of fresh water, said Larry Myers, former president of the Forbes Trail Chapter of Trout Unlimited. The stream that feeds the lake and flows over the spillway is an unnamed tributary of Little Sewickley Creek, which feeds the Youghiogheny River.
Bass and panfish are more tolerable to warm water, but not trout. When they drain the lake relocate the fish, it’s a quick operation and all fish are transported to the same location.
Dredging the lake and repairing the dam will cost about $730,000, Robinson told the township commissioners last year.
Stabilizing the streambank along the dam will cost about $258,000. The concrete base of the dam will be replaced and the concrete chunks from that spillway may be reused along the streambank to stabilize it. The dam, built before North Huntingdon acquired it, is poorly constructed, with mine spoilage under it, causing acid mine drainage, Robinson said.
Replacement os the wooden covered bridge over the spillway will cost about $220,000, Robinson said.
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.