The Bucks County Commissioners recently accepted a proposal to ensure the ongoing preservation and accessibility of Lake Galena in Peace Valley Park. Bucks Local News covered the 50-year, $24.7 million arrangement with the Bucks County Water and Sewer Authority (BCWSA).

The county agreed to lease the lake to the BCWSA. The terms include conservation easements and restrictive covenants intended to ensure the area remains a Bucks County natural asset for at least the next half-century.

Among other provisions, the BCWSA will assume the costs and responsibilities of repairing and maintaining the lake’s 47-year-old dam.

The surrounding Peace Valley Park will remain under county ownership.

“Bucks County has the preeminent parks system in the region, and we are very proud to do everything in our power to ensure that generations from now, Bucks Countians will still be hiking, biking, boating, and fishing at Peace Valley Park and Lake Galena,” said county Commissioner Chair Diane Ellis-Marseglia.

“At the same time,” she continued, “this administration is committed to reducing the burden on taxpayers, and this proposal would keep track with those commitments as well as the recommendations of our transition committee.”

The agreement is subject to the final approval of the county solicitor.

More on this story is at Bucks Local News.