Lake Scranton is a reservoir in Roaring Brook Township, Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania. The reservoir borders East Mountain in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The reservoir was formed by the dam built by William Walker Scranton in 1898. Originally name the “Burned Bridge Reservoir,” the public has always called the reservoir “Lake Scranton.”
Lake Scranton is owned by the Pennsylvania American Water Company which supplies the city with drinking water.
Background
Lake Scranton holds approximately 2.5 billion gallons of water and provides drinking water to approximately 160,000 customers in the 14 communities served by the Pennsylvania American Water Company’s Scranton Area Water Treatment Plant.
Problem
The aging dam needed to be brought to compliance with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s dam requirements. With those requirements in mind, the Pennsylvania American Water Company began a $10.5 million construction and rehabilitation project that includes increasing the spillway capacity and improving the stability of the masonry dam.

Solution
The contract for the rehabilitation project was awarded to KC Construction Company, who subcontracted Brayman Construction Company to provide the PT Anchor installation. Brayman reached out to Nucor Skyline and their geostructural engineers to help stabilize the current dam structure.
Nucor Skyline supplied 16-strand class I dam tiedowns and 19-strand anchor heads for the project. The post-tensioned permanent strand anchors with hotmelt extruded PE sheathing and 19 strand cast anchors were inserted into pre-installed fiveinch HDPE corrugated sheathing and then grouted.
This installation met the requirements of the PDEP and has increased the stability of the existing masonry dam.
Products: Nucor Skyline’s post-tensioned permanent strand anchors with hot-melt extruded PE sheathing and 19-strand cast anchor heads were used in pre-installed & grouted 5” HDPE corrugated sheathing to improve the stability of an existing masonry dam.
23 each 16-strand class I dam tiedowns (123’ to 143’ long) – 48,320 total LF of 0.6” 270 ksi steel strand; 19-strand anchor heads
Partners: Owner: Pennsylvania American Water Company, Hershey, Pa.; General Contractor: KC Construction Company, Ivyland, Pa.; Contractor – Anchor Installation: Brayman Construction Company, Saxonberg, Pa.; Engineers: Gannett Fleming, Camp Hill, Pa.
Reprinted from Marine Construction Magazine Issue II, 2023