Flooding swallowed many towns in Schuylkill County on August 13.

But Tamaqua dodged a bullet. Again.

Tamaqua has avoided severe flood damage since 1955.

It was in August of that year when the Little Schuylkill River rose over its banks. Raging water inundated the downtown and damaged the railroad industry to the point where it never fully recovered.

Tamaqua has a history of being flood-prone.

The town, founded 1799, lies within a geographic water gap. Mountain springs and runoff help feed the local waterways, all of them converging on the town. In fact, Tamaqua hosts the confluence of the Little Schuylkill, originally called the Tamaqua River, along with the Wabash and Panther creeks.

The town’s historic floods have been well recorded. They hit in 1820, 1841, 1850, 1862, 1902, 1916, twice in 1933, 1938, 1942 and the final big one, 1955, spawned by Hurricane Diane.

Minor floods have taken place in 1969, 1972 and twice in 2006. But those were largely attributed to the Wabash Creek.

Tamaqua’s success in avoiding major flood catastrophes — such as most recently — can be attributed to flood control dams. That idea was conceived in the 1960s and turned into reality just a few years later.

It resulted in large Tuscarora Lake, a recreation and flood control site which opened on June 26, 1971.

For local residents, 96-acre Tuscarora Lake is a man-made blessing and shining star. It was created at its strategic location after the state purchased the land for that specific purpose.

The U.S. Soil Conservation Service in cooperation with the state constructed the dam, making it the jewel of a 1,618-acre park.

Of course, credit also goes to Locust Lake, 7 miles away, opened on June 10, 1972.

Those two lakes, combined with Neifert’s Dam and a nearby dry dam, provide much-needed flood protection to Tamaqua and downstream communities.

Touted by the Schuylkill County Visitors Bureau as a key tourist destination, Tuscarora Lake and park offer fresh air, clean water and advantages of fishing, hiking, swimming, hunting and camping, along with the allure of seven nature-filled trails.

But nowhere does it improve the quality of life more than in adjacent Tamaqua, where it helps residents breathe easier when torrential rains pummel the landscape.

It’s clear that the huge volume of water accommodated at Tuscarora Lake has saved the day many times over the past 43 years.

It happened again on Aug. 13.

Water levels rose high everywhere. Many Schuylkill County towns suffered major damage.

But not so in Tamaqua, of all places, the Land of Running Water.

Tamaqua enjoyed the advantage of a gift that keeps on giving.

By Donald R. Serfass | tneditor@tnonline.com