One of Lancaster County's most popular lakes is being drained. And it might stay dry for a long time.

The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission on Friday announced it had begun drawing down the 106-acre Speedwell Forge Lake in Elizabeth Township because the dam that holds back the lake was damaged by Tropical Storm Lee and other recent heavy storms.

"We inspected the facility on Oct. 17-18 and found that the spillway had lifted or 'heaved' as a result of increased pressure, subsequently creating numerous cracks in the concrete spillway," Dan Leonard, director of the PFBC Bureau of Engineering, said.

"The spillway's structural integrity has been compromised, and we believe future storm events will further degrade its integrity. Therefore, we are proceeding with the immediate and complete drawdown of the impoundment until further testing and analyses can be performed."

A popular place for boaters and anglers, the lake is being drained at the rate of about a foot per day, PFBC officials said. At that rate, it could take more than a month to drain it — as long as no more rain is dumped into it.

In anticipation of the complete drawdown, the PFBC has temporarily lifted all fishing seasons, sizes and creel limits on the lake and is encouraging anglers to harvest as many fish as they can.

"With the warm October that we've had so far, lakes are warmer than usual and fish are very active, which should make fishing very good now and as the lake is drawn down," Dave Miko, chief of the PFBC Division of Fisheries Management, said. "Anglers can expect to catch largemouth bass, crappie, channel catfish, bluegill and carp."

PFBC biologists will conduct fish salvages within the next several weeks and will move the fish to nearby waters. Biologists have not yet identified those waters. Although fish salvages generally save a large number of fish, Miko said, many more likely will die.

"We will collect as many fish as we can through netting and electro-fishing, but it is impossible to capture all of them," he said. "Fish die during any drawdown and salvage effort. Many hide around structures where we simply can't reach them, and others become buried in the mud when they are slow to exit the lake with the remaining water. Anglers and the general public should expect to see this."

The lake will remain open to public use until the water level reaches a point that it's deemed unsafe for anglers. At that point, the lake will be closed and signs will be posted alerting people to the closing.

When the dam will be repaired and the lake refilled is uncertain.

The Speedwell Forge dam is one of 16 high-hazard and unsafe dams managed by the PFBC.

The agency estimates it will cost $6.43 million to reconstruct the dam's concrete spillway and reinforce the embankment. Currently, PFBC officials said, the agency has no money to complete the project.

The PFBC built the dam that holds back Speedwell Forge Lake in 1966. The state Department of Environmental Protection several years ago put it on a list of 66 dams across the state considered to be in need of upgrades.

The PFBC has been working through the list of lakes it owns that are on that list as funding has come available. Currently, the agency is rebuilding four high-hazard or unsafe dams in different parts of the state.

preilly@lnpnews.com