| Blue Marsh Lake | |
|---|---|
| Location | Berks County, Pennsylvania |
| Lake type | reservoir |
| Primary inflows | Tulpehocken Creek |
| Primary outflows | Tulpehocken Creek |
| Managing agency | U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Philadelphia District |
| Built | 1979 |
| Max. length | 8 mi (13 km) |
| Surface area | 1,150 acres (470 ha) |
| Islands | 1 |
| References | [1][2][3] |
Blue Marsh Lake is an artificial lake located northwest of the city of Reading, Pennsylvania, USA. It is in western Berks County, fed into by the Tulpehocken Creek. The main span of the lake is along the border between Bern and Lower Heidelberg Townships. However, the northwesternmost portions lie in the more sparsely populated North Heidelberg and Penn Townships. In the middle of the lake is a large, uninhabited island (claimed by Bern Township). The lake is a popular recreation area in the summer, where people can fish, swim, and boat.
Initial authorization for the reservoir was granted by the Flood Control Act of 1962 that started eight projects on the Delaware River basin.[4] The Pennsylvania Project 70 Land Acquisition and Borrowing Act provided funding and permitted the eminent domain acquisition of the land that would later become the lake with the governor's permission in 1969. The United States Army Corps of Engineers began constructing the lake in March 1974 with the impoundment of the Tulpehocken Creek and was completed in September 1979.[2][3][5]