PIKE COUNTY, Pa. — Pecks Pond in Porter Township is looking fuller these days. A restoration project nearly five years long is finished, meaning families can once again enjoy the water.
"It's great, it's awesome," said Jen Yenca. "I love being able to get the kayaks back out."
The pond near Blooming Grove was drained in 2016 to fix the dam. Repair work started last year and wrapped up this summer.
According to the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), there were several reasons that the project took so long to finish. At one point, the Department of General Services took over the project because it was capital funded. Permit issues and staffing also caused a delay.
Josh Yenca has a cabin near the water.
"The work is done; it looks awesome. We are happy, real happy with it. We were on the water earlier this morning. It's nice to see the water up. It looks great," Yenca said.
Not only are people excited to get their boats on the water, but they are also excited to get back to fishing.
"They love fishing, and they love being out on the water and stuff. It's definitely exciting to be back out fishing and on the water as we enjoyed before," Yenca said.
Laurie Woods from Stroudsburg was camping at nearby Otter Lake and is glad to see some life back in this area.
"I know there's a lot of private cabins and people come up here to get out in the wilderness. There's good fishing over there," Woods said.
The DCNR will begin herbicide treatment for weeds later this summer.