Times Observer photo by Brian Ferry Browns Pond, a lake of less than 10 acres in Farmington Township, is under consideration for some work by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission.

When a list of pending Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission dam and spillway projects was published recently, one of the largest lakes in Warren County was on the list.

Browns Pond might not come to mind in a list of lakes in the county. It isn’t a high-profile location.

The lake is located off of Mud Run in Farmington Township, southwest of Lander. The shallow lake has an area of less than 10 acres, according to Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (FBC) Communications Director Mike Parker.

According to the recent publication, the FBC has a list of 31 lakes statewide that are on a list for updates or consideration and Browns Pond would be a $3.5 million project. According to Parker, the commission has projected that it would cost $3.481 million to bring the structure into compliance with modern requirements. The commission is in charge of the lake.

“It’s a dam on a water that is managed by the Fish and Boat Commission,” Parker said. “Any movement on that project is still being processed.”

Browns Pond is in the planning phase – still years from any work. That is a big expense for an agency that relies on revenue from fishing licenses. The dam and spillway projects have been approved to receive dollars from state coffers, Parker said. The $3.5 million price tag is not necessarily what the commission will spend at Browns Pond. That there is an earthen dam impounding the water now doesn’t mean there has to be in the future. The commission would determine if the work is feasible and the project is useful, Parker said.

“It’s old hatchery infrastructure,” he said. “It’s usefulness in our hatchery system is in the past. At this point, there’s not much purpose.”

The lake is open to recreational fishing he said, but it is not easy to access.

“You don’t just dam a creek just to do it,” Parker said.

The commission could decide to return the waterway to a more natural situation.

“Breaching … that’s an option,” he said.

The lake level is about 5 feet above Cemetery Road at its southern tip, where there is a concrete intake in the earthen wall. The outflow is about 20 feet away, about 8 feet below the water level, and drains into a ditch along Cemetery Road.