Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources

Responsible for maintaining and preserving the state’s parks and forests, the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) has utilized Schnabel’s services for over a decade through three open-ended contracts. We served as sub-consultant on the first contract, with the Maguire Group, Inc., which started in 2006 and lasted 5 years, and entered a similar contract with the Larson Group.

Based on our strong performance on these contracts, DCNR selected us as prime contractor for dam engineering services in 2009, which was extended through 2017. Our scope of services for each new work order varied based on project requirements. DCNR engaged us for pre-design studies, design, and construction phase services.

Typical study tasks include engineering assessments and evaluation of rehabilitation alternatives, hydrologic and hydraulic analysis, geotechnical exploration and analysis, and environmental action plan development. During design, we tackle various program criteria such as rehabilitation, seepage and spillway capacity, spillway upgrades to meet new flood criteria, dam breach modeling and inundation mapping.

In addition to project work, we supplied dam safety training for DCNR staff related to hydrology and hydraulics, geophysical methods, operation and maintenance plans, and environmental action plans. We also facilitated risk analysis workshops to address previously identified potential failure modes, and developed dredging plans for lake and stream realignment.