TCVG20 - SPILLWAY Traditional Cache

This cache has been archived.

OReviewer: As there's been no cache to find for a long time or has had no owner response for at least 30 days, I'm archiving it to keep it from showing up in search lists, and to prevent it from blocking other cache placements.

Please note that if geocaches are archived by a reviewer or Geocaching HQ for lack of maintenance, they are not eligible for unarchival.

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Hidden : 9/27/2012
Difficulty:
1.5 out of 5
Terrain:
2 out of 5

Size: Size: micro (micro)

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Geocache Description:

Welcome to the Tulpehocken Creek Valley Geo-Trail. The Trail is co-sponsored by Berks County Parks and the US Army Corps of Engineers. This cache is one of twenty placed in and around County Parks and Blue Marsh Lake for your enjoyment.

There will be a “keyword” in each cache to be recorded on the TCVGT pamphlet available at the Berks County Parks and USACE websites. Be safe and have fun!

 

 


Blue Marsh Lake is a multi-purpose project built and maintained by the Philadelphia District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The dam was authorized by Congress for flood control, water supply, water quality and recreation.

Construction began in 1974 and was completed in 1979. The reservoir is located on the Tulpehocken Creek, and the project’s water control practices benefit the downstream communities of Reading, Birdsboro, Pottstown, Conshohocken and sections of Philadelphia.

The spillway is a safety feature of Blue Marsh Lake, and consists of an unlined open chute-type channel that is cut through a natural saddle of land. It is 300 feet wide and 1,360 feet in length along the center line. A reinforced concrete sill was built within the spillway to prevent erosion between it and the shoreline. It is 300 feet wide and 30 feet long, with the side walls extending from the 307 foot crest elevation to the 323 foot elevation. It is located 1,500 feet south of the dam.

When water is impounded during flood conditions, the lake level will start to rise. Once spillway flow is achieved, the reservoir has reached its design capacity. In order to protect the dam and prevent “overtopping,” excess inflows “spill” into the spillway outlet channel. The water continues to flow through the channel and eventually into the Tulpehocken Creek 1000 feet downstream from the Stilling Basin. To simplify things, the spillway acts as a drain does in a sink or tub, thus preventing water from running over-top of the dam. Water has only run over the spillway twice in the history of the dam. This occurred in June 2006 and September 2011.

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