Dam reconstruction at Opossum Lake should be done this fall and the Lower Frankford Township lake could reopen for public use in 2012, according to the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission.

But stocking the lake is not going to be a priority next year, said agency spokesman Eric Levis.

"We don't have intentions of stocking it in 2012," he said this week, noting it will take several years to reestablish the lake's fishery after the work is completed and it naturally refills.

The 59-acre lake, which opened in 1962, has been empty since 2008 following a gradual draining that began in September 2005, when commission staff observed signs of seepage around the spillway drains.

A clayish material flowing with the water was an early indication of erosion that could have undermined the spillway slabs and weakened the earthen dam.

The lake was completely drained by 2008 and the lake bed was left alone until last November, when site work began for the new spillway.

The old spillway was removed and work has started on the new, larger spillway and an upgraded dam, Levis said.

"Construction has resumed but has been slowed a bit because of the rain," he said.

The cost of the restoration project is $3.38 million.

Lengthy process

Following the construction, crews will need to backfill the project area and reestablish the grass before allowing the lake to refill with rain water, officials said.

That is expected to be completed by March 2012. Opossum Lake could be at full pool again in fall 2012, depending on rainfall, according to the commission's timeline.

"Once the lake naturally refills, we will stock it with fingerlings, which will need several years to grow," Levis said. "In order to protect the fingerlings, we will likely close the lake to all fishing for approximately three to three-and-a-half years. I say ‘likely,' because the fisheries management plan has to be approved at a quarterly commission meeting."

Trout stocking for the start of the season would follow after the warmwater fisheries are established, he added.

The board meets again in mid-April, but Levis said a vote on the plan will likely occur at the July meeting.

Friends meeting

In the meantime, the Friends of Opossum Lake Conservancy, which formed in April 2006 to preserve and restore the lake, will hold its next meeting at 7 p.m. April 6 to discuss the future stocking of the lake, including the stocking of trout.

That meeting will be at Lower Frankford Township's municipal building, 1205 Easy Road.

The FOLC has invited commission representatives to the meeting to discuss plans for the lake. Levis said Gary Moore, the agency's legislative liaison, plans to attend.

The fisheries management plan will be the first item on the April 6 agenda, officials said.