Despite objections, plans to demolish a dam and drain this 19th century N.J. lake move ahead

A 204-year-old lake appears closer to being drained once an old dam is decommissioned.
Gloucester County and Harrison Township filed a revised plan in April to decommission the dam that forms Ewan Lake. The county and the municipality were two years late in doing so in response to the state Department of Environmental Protection classifying the Ewan Mill Dam as a Class II, significant hazard. Nearly a third of the 1,727 dams regulated by the state DEP are classified as a high or significant hazard.
The state wants more details about the stabilization of the lakebed and sediment caused by draining Ewan Lake. It also wants verification that the homeowners around the lake are notified about what is about to happen.
“A revised permit application to decommission the dam was submitted in April 2024 and is currently under review with the Bureau of Dam Safety,” Larry Hajna, a DEP spokesman, told NJ Advance Media in an email last week. “A number of objections to the removal have been received from local residents. A public hearing will be necessary before a Dam Safety Permit can be issued per the requirements of the Safe Dam Act.
“A hearing will be scheduled once the revised application is determined technically complete by the bureau. A timeline to complete the review and schedule a public hearing has not been established.”
Gloucester County Administrator Chad Bruner and Harrison Mayor Louis Manzo both said earlier this month they did not expect any action on the dam before the end of the year.
But that’s no comfort to Elk Mayor Carolyn King-Sammons, a neighboring town where most of the lake sits on private property. King-Sammons said Elk’s fire department uses the lake for water to fill their trucks and that it has been part of the fabric of the town for more than 200 years.
“I voiced my opinion. I sent letters and joined in a couple of the protests, and I haven’t heard anything,” she told NJ Advance Media. “It’s just frustrating on my end.”
The DEP said Gloucester County, Harrison, Elk, and two other private companies are the owners of the dam. King-Sammons said she doesn’t think Elk owns the dam, which is located in Harrison.
A resolution Harrison passed unanimously in 2022 to support draining the lake said it was created by a dam in 1820 and the dam was rebuilt by Gloucester County in 1938 using federal money. Manzo estimates repairs for the dam could cost up to $4 million. He and the county argued spending public funds for a lake on private property doesn’t add up.
All 21 counties have endangered dams and the owners are under orders to fix or decommission them.
A hazard condition rating does not mean that a dam’s condition poses a significant and immediate risk to the public, the DEP said. It indicates that a dam does not fully meet current regulatory requirements or that further critical studies are needed.
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