HONESDALE, PA — New upstream earthen dams might be built at one-tenth of the state estimated replacement costs to either save or revive five doomed state-owned ponds, according to Wayne businessman Paul Ludick. He is referring to dams, deemed to be “high hazard,” that were built to accommodate the former Delaware and Hudson (D&H) Canal.

Ludick, who does business in Honesdale and lives in Mount Pleasant, has been looking for ways to save the dams and impoundments for the past two years.

He came before the county commissioners on November 12 with a plan that he said could save not only the dams and lakes, but also millions of state tax dollars, as well as the loss of neighboring property values and related recreation dollars.

The five water bodies are: Belmont Lake (172 acres), Hankins Pond (69 acres), and Miller Pond (61 acres) in Mount Pleasant Township; White Oak Pond (225 acres) in Clinton Township; and Lower Woods Pond (91 acres) in Lebanon Township.

The state-owned lakes are managed by the Fish & Boat Commission. Hankins and Lower Woods have already been drained, Miller and White Oak are being drained and Belmont remains full.

The Fish and Boat Commission recently estimated that one replacement dam project, for White Oak Pond, will cost $6.6 million and take six years. Replacement would include removal of the old dam.

Ludick says that new earthen dams can be built upstream of the older dams and provide the additional flood prevention new standards require, while retaining the historic structures. He submitted an estimate from Kohrs Excavating of Honesdale, which priced that project for saving the Hankins Pond dam, which he called “one of the best examples of D&H dams from the 1830s.”

Kohrs projected a base construction cost of $115,000, plus design and permitting costs that could increase the cost to $500,000.

Ludick said an official at the DEP Dam Safety Division has already told him that his plan is feasible.

In a November 10 letter to the F&B Commission, he extended the two cost estimates to the other five dams, saying the $30 million difference could be used to help other private dam owners bring their dams up to the new storm standards.

“Historic dam preservation in Wayne County is very important. Our county developed from the water that flowed from these dams… The D&H Canal originated in Honesdale and made its way 108 miles to the Hudson River.”

“…It floated the barges that held the coal that made New York City the city it is today. The destruction of these dams destroys the engineering feat that at the time of our young country… contributed mightily to the transformation of our nation.”

The benefit to the county economy would also be great. “More fishing licenses are sold in Wayne County than any other county in the state. Waiting at least six years for these lakes to be refilled is going to result in substantial loss of income for local businesses and possible the failure of many.”