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? A lake owned by a utility or company · change
Is the water body larger than 1 acre? Yes, larger than 1 acre · change
Why are you lowering the water? To repair the dam, spillway or outlet · 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Checked Oct 4, 2026 · Source: Apply to Draw Off Water from Impoundments This may be outdated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Checked Oct 4, 2026 · Source: Apply to Draw Off Water from Impoundments: Drawdown Considerations This may be outdated

State

Repairing a dam or outlet

DEP Division of Dam Safety

Any repair or change to a DEP-regulated (jurisdictional) dam should go to DEP's Division of Dam Safety first for a decision on what is required. Repairing a non-jurisdictional pond dam is not regulated under Chapter 105, but an erosion and sediment control plan must still be followed.

DEP: Dam Safety

Checked Oct 4, 2026 · Source: Introduction to Ponds and Chapter 105 (Dam/Outlet Repair; FAQ) 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

Owner

Ask the lake's owner first

The utility or company that owns the lake

The owner's shoreline permit is required in addition to state permits. Ask the owner for its shoreline rules and approval before you apply; its approval doesn't replace state permits, and state permits don't replace its approval.

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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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/2wt00 · Checked Oct 4, 2026

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