DARK HOLLOW DAM UPDATE
The fate of the proposed Dark Hollow Dam project now rests with the Bucks County Commissioners who have promised a final decision before summer. The dam is a component of two of the three proposals studied to reduce flood damages on the lower Neshaminy Creek in Bucks County, PA. Although the dam was first proposed almost forty years ago it had never reached the final approval stage and was rejected by the Bucks County Commissioners in 1989. Serious flooding in lower Bucks County in 1996 prompted a decision by the county commissioners to reconsider options for reducing flood damages along the Neshaminy Creek, which included a reevaluation of the proposal for a dam at Dark Hollow.
An update of the Neshaminy Creek Watershed Plan was begun in late summer 1997 and included USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), Bucks Conservation District and the County of Bucks as study partners. A steering committee consisting of representatives from the sponsoring agencies, and county residents representing groups that favored the dam and groups that opposed the dam in favor of other non-structural approaches was formed to guide the study. A technical team comprised of members from NRCS, Bucks Conservation District and the Bucks County Planning Commission conducted the field research and prepared the report on options.
The report on options included three different proposals in addition to the baseline no action alternative. The first option proposed was the non-structural alternative that included a combination of buyouts, structure elevations and flood proofing in addition to a flood warning system that is included in all three alternatives. The next alternative was to build the proposed Dark Hollow Dam. The third alternative was to build the dam and combine it with some components of the non-structural option.
After evaluating all three alternatives, the report concluded that the non-structural option was the National Economic Development (N.E.D.) plan because it provided the highest net economic benefit and had the highest cost/benefit ratio of all three alternatives. The non-structural alternative also has virtually no adverse environmental impacts and agencies such as the Army Corps of Engineers, E.P.A., and U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service have stated that the non-structural alternative would not require review or permitting by their agencies. Both of the options that include building the dam, however, would have significant environmental impacts or would require the preparation of a full environmental impact study.
The steering committee met in early February to review the alternatives report and make a recommendation to the Bucks County Commissioners. After discussing the advantages and disadvantages of all three options, the committee voted 4 to 2 to recommend the non-structural alternative to the commissioners. If the commissioners accept the committee's recommendation, implementation of the nonstructural alternative can begin and depending upon availability of funds, protection for property owners should commence within the next year. It should be noted that the county has already embarked on a nonstructural program in partnership with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) that has allowed the county to purchase and remove 75 homes along the Neshaminy that were extensively damaged by flooding from Hurricane Floyd in September 1999.
If the county selects the non-structural option, the watershed plan will be amended to remove the proposed dam and Dark Hollow Park should be permanently deed restricted by the county. In that way, the 600+ acres of land along the Neshaminy that were once slated to become a dry reservoir will be forever protected as a park for all present an future county residents to enjoy.