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After months of township business at meetings being monopolized by the Modern Gas Sales/Canal Homes stormwater issue, the most recent meeting of the township’s board of supervisors included a noteworthy feature wholly unrelated to the tenacious problem.
Linda and Bob Suhosky, members of the Lake Cadjaw Watershed Association, were first on the roster with their request that the supervisors consider partnering with the association to help them obtain a grant from the PA Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) to restore the Cadjaw Dam, long neglected and badly in need of repair.
Having already raised about $80,000 of the estimated $180,000 project cost, the group has applied for funding from the Local Share Gaming Account, but needs a municipality to partner with to complete the process.
Linda Suhosky, president of the Association, said DCED requires a municipality be involved in order to qualify for the funds. Having already devised an engineering plan to restore the dam, getting either Cherry Ridge or Texas Twp. Involved is the last step necessary before DCED will consider funding the project.
Covering 66 acres, Lake Cadjaw is mostly in Cherry Ridge Township, with a portion in Texas Township just outside Honesdale Borough. The lake level was drawn down five feet around 25 years ago by order of the state, due to the deteriorating condition of the dam.
The lake dates back to the 1800s when a dam was built and the water was stored and used to supply the Delaware & Hudson Canal. It was later used to supply water for Honesdale.
About 35 years ago, the Army Corps of Engineers lowered the water level of the lake approximately 5 1/2 feet. In the void left behind grew a forest of cattails. The LCWA has made many attempts to have the lake restored to its original state, the most recent being in 2009, when they thought they would be able to raise the lake level after installing new mechanicals, but were unable to gain DEP approval due to the condition of the dam.
The dam is in jeopardy of being breached by order of the Department of Environmental Protection if it is not reinforced and brought up to current safety specifications.
The LCWA has hired an engineering firm which has drawn up plans to present to the DEP. The plans are to not only meet their minimum safety requirements, but to also increase the water level at the rate of one foot per year.
“This means a great deal to the residents of Texas Township,” Suhosky said.
After months of township business at meetings being monopolized by the Modern Gas Sales/Canal Homes stormwater issue, the most recent meeting of the township’s board of supervisors included a noteworthy feature wholly unrelated to the tenacious problem.
Linda and Bob Suhosky, members of the Lake Cadjaw Watershed Association, were first on the roster with their request that the supervisors consider partnering with the association to help them obtain a grant from the PA Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) to restore the Cadjaw Dam, long neglected and badly in need of repair.
Having already raised about $80,000 of the estimated $180,000 project cost, the group has applied for funding from the Local Share Gaming Account, but needs a municipality to partner with to complete the process.
Linda Suhosky, president of the Association, said DCED requires a municipality be involved in order to qualify for the funds. Having already devised an engineering plan to restore the dam, getting either Cherry Ridge or Texas Twp. Involved is the last step necessary before DCED will consider funding the project.
Covering 66 acres, Lake Cadjaw is mostly in Cherry Ridge Township, with a portion in Texas Township just outside Honesdale Borough. The lake level was drawn down five feet around 25 years ago by order of the state, due to the deteriorating condition of the dam.
The lake dates back to the 1800s when a dam was built and the water was stored and used to supply the Delaware & Hudson Canal. It was later used to supply water for Honesdale.
About 35 years ago, the Army Corps of Engineers lowered the water level of the lake approximately 5 1/2 feet. In the void left behind grew a forest of cattails. The LCWA has made many attempts to have the lake restored to its original state, the most recent being in 2009, when they thought they would be able to raise the lake level after installing new mechanicals, but were unable to gain DEP approval due to the condition of the dam.
The dam is in jeopardy of being breached by order of the Department of Environmental Protection if it is not reinforced and brought up to current safety specifications.
The LCWA has hired an engineering firm which has drawn up plans to present to the DEP. The plans are to not only meet their minimum safety requirements, but to also increase the water level at the rate of one foot per year.
“This means a great deal to the residents of Texas Township,” Suhosky said.
