Permit plan · Lower or drain the water

Your permit plan: Lower or drain the water

Based on your answers. Cards are in the order you'll usually need them. Checked Oct 4, 2026.

Your answers (change any of them)

Who owns the water and the lakebed? My own pond, entirely on my land · change
Is the water body larger than 1 acre? No, 1 acre or smaller · change
Does the project need another state permit, such as a dam permit or a water obstruction permit? Not sure · change
Why are you lowering the water? To work on a dock, wall or beach · change

State

PFBC Permit to Draw Off Water from Impoundments

PFBC, reviewed with DEP dam safety staff

Form: PFBC Application to Draw Off Water from Impoundments (updated March 2026; file pfbc-dd01)

Timing: Apply at least 30 days before the drawdown.

Lowering the water in a pond, lake or other impoundment needs PFBC's Permit to Draw Off Water from Impoundments when the water body is larger than 1 acre, or at any size when the project needs another state permit (for example a DEP dam permit or a water obstruction and encroachment permit). Apply at least 30 days before the drawdown; there is no fee. PFBC and DEP's dam safety staff review it together. PFBC warns that drawing a pond down after turtles, frogs and salamanders begin hibernating in the mud can kill them.

What to have ready

The impoundment's name, county, municipality and receiving stream.
The DEP dam ID number, if the dam has one.
Surface area, maximum depth, and how far below normal pool you'll lower it.
Method (valve, gate, stoplog, siphon or pump) and the proposed dates.
Where any fish will be moved.
The purpose; for dam, dredging, shoreline, beach or dock work, the DEP supplement with plans and photos.
A map that locates the impoundment (USGS topographic or PennDOT county highway map).

Checked Oct 4, 2026 · Source: Apply to Draw Off Water from Impoundments This may be outdated

Info

Time it before hibernation

PFBC

PFBC warns that if you draw a pond down after turtles, frogs and salamanders begin hibernating in the mud, and that mud is exposed, the animals will likely be killed. A drawdown can dry out and partly control plants in the exposed area, especially together with freezing weather.

PFBC: Drawdown considerations

Checked Oct 4, 2026 · Source: Apply to Draw Off Water from Impoundments: Drawdown Considerations This may be outdated

Info

Not sure which permit fits? Ask first

DEP regional office or your delegated conservation district

Ask DEP or your delegated conservation district before you register or build. Many small projects in or along Pennsylvania waters qualify for one of DEP's Chapter 105 general permits (GPs), registered with DEP or with a county conservation district that has Chapter 105 delegation. DEP or the district can only authorize a project that meets every term and condition of the general permit, so check the terms before you register. DEP prefers online registration through ePermitting, and conservation districts may charge their own review fee on top of the registration fee.

Checked Oct 4, 2026 · Source: Chapter 105 General Permits This may be outdated

State

Chapter 105: your project is a water obstruction

DEP, or your county conservation district if it has Chapter 105 delegation

Under Pennsylvania's Chapter 105 rules, a "body of water" includes any natural or artificial lake or pond, and a "water obstruction" includes a pier, wharf, wall, fill or other structure in, along, across or projecting into it. For ponds and lakes, a structure counts if, at normal pool level, it is in the water or touching the water's edge. The rules cover temporary structures as well as permanent ones. DEP says any change to a pond's cross-section that is not maintenance, such as a new dock, pier or island or making the pond bigger, needs a water obstruction and encroachment permit.

Checked Oct 4, 2026 · Source: 25 Pa. Code § 105.1, Definitions This may be outdated

Also check

Local

Also check with your municipality

Your township, borough or city (and county)

Ask about zoning, building and floodplain permits. Your county, township or municipal government may have its own rules, codes or permits for pond construction or maintenance, so check with every level of local government before you start, especially for a new pond.

Checked Oct 4, 2026 · Source: Pond Agencies and Permits in Pennsylvania: Local Government (updated May 19, 2025) This may be outdated

A summary, not legal or engineering advice. The regulation, the permit documents and the product label control. Confirm with the agency before you start.

Pros for this work

Optional. We use it only to show pros who serve your area. It isn't saved with your plan.

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Your cards plus a timeline counted back from your start date, a document checklist for each permit, a call list with links, questions to ask contractors and a tracker. Delivered instantly.

This is not a permit or an application. We don't file anything for you. Agency fees are paid only to the agency.

Pond & Shore PA plan · lakepennsylvania.us/plan/2x054 · Checked Oct 4, 2026

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