Alvin R. Bush Dam, Pennsylvania

Alvin R. Bush Dam is located on Kettle Creek approximately 8.4 miles above the mouth and about 15 miles above Renovo, Pa., in Clinton County. The earth and rockfill dam has a maximum height of 165 feet above the streambed and a top length of 1,350 feet. The horseshoe-shaped tunnel is uncontrolled and located in rock adjacent to the right abutment. The reservoir has a storage capacity of 75,000 acre-feet at spillway crest, equal to 6.22 inches of runoff from the drainage area above the dam, and the pool at this elevation extends upstream for a distance approximately 8.8 miles. The permanent pool covers 160 acres and extends for 2.2 miles. The project controls a drainage area of 226 square miles or about 92 percent of Kettle Creek. The project reduces flood heights of Kettle Creek below the dam and of the West Branch below the mouth of Kettle Creek.

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania coordinates operation of its George B. Stevenson Dam with Curwensville, Alvin R. Bush, and Foster Joseph Sayers Dams to secure optimum flood control benefits from this controlled systems operation. The recreational facilities are operated and maintained by the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Recreation facilities include a beach, boat launch, picnic areas and campgrounds.

Facilities:

• Operated by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources as Kettle Creek State Park.  For more information on Kettle Creek State Park, visit the DCNR's State Parks web site at http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/parks/kettlecreek.asp

• 1,800 acre park with beach, boat launch, picnic areas, campgrounds.

Operation:

• Recreation: Year Round

• Boat Ramp: Open until early November

• Campgrounds: Open through hunting season (mid-November) Winter sports available.

Phone: (570) 923-1800

Project Location: Located in western Clinton County, Pa., the project is approximately 15 miles north of Renovo, Pa., S.R. 4001.

Authorization: The project is a unit of the comprehensive flood control plan for the protection of communities in the West Branch Susquehanna River basin and was authorized by the Flood Control Act approved Sept. 3, 1954. It is described in House Document No. 29, 84th Congress, first session.

Cost: The federal cost was $7,103,000. Construction costs in constant dollars are estimated at $39,509,000.

District Project Manager:   George Belien, (570) 275-9505