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Scuba divers swim in Dutch Springs, a 50-acre quarry lake in the Lehigh Valley on a property between Bethlehem and Lower Nazareth. The owner of the 40-year-old lake and water park has sold the land to the developer and plans to build a large warehouse on the site. As the main activity lake for diving communities in the northeastern United States, its future is at stake.

For the past four years, a 50-acre lake in Lehigh Valley has been the backbone and lifeblood of the scuba diving community in the area.

It may soon become the fence victim of Pennsylvania's warehouse boom-the proliferation of industrial parks is increasingly shaping the state's economy and natural landscape.

Dutch Spring is located two hours' drive north of Philadelphia, along the border of Lower Nazareth and Bethlehem, in Northampton County, emerging from the remains of the National Portland Cement Quarry in Broadhead. The former limestone mine and cement plant flourished for decades until the suspension of production in the mid-1970s, prompting the establishment of a unique diving campsite, water park and adventure courses on part of the property.

"This is our Quarribbean, if you want," said Dave Barnes, owner of Scubadelphia, a diving center and equipment shop near Frankfurt, and his scuba certified instructor is one of the busiest in the Delaware Valley.

This flooded quarry filled with spring water by an underground aquifer has become an idyllic lake and training ground for generations of professional and recreational divers. Dutch Springs reach a depth of 100 feet in some places and are the main venue for certification and other outings held by diving centers in the Northeast to maintain the connection and development of the scuba community.

There are many sunken vehicles and structures along the floor of the quarry to explore, including the Philadelphia tram that was used at the bicentennial celebrations in the United States.

"They sank school buses, airplanes, jets there," Barnes said. "There are a lot of different attractions that new divers like. It's very exciting for people who have never seen it before. Then you take them to an aircraft assessment, jet plane or trolley. This is a suitable place for divers. The park-it's very cool."

This month was shocking-sudden, but not unpredictable-when news reports surfaced that the developers concerned planned to build a pair of warehouses on the combined land, which included the Dutch Spring property and its precious lake. The proposal comes from Trammell Crow, a commercial real estate developer in Dallas, Texas, who has completed other projects in Lehigh Valley.

Within five days, a petition to save Dutch Springs collected more than 5,100 signatures to draw attention to the warehouse proposal and the threat to the lake if divers had no say in the planning process.

Petition organizer Janine Rajauski wrote: “Divers, dive shops and community friends announced last Friday that Holland Springs will be sold to warehouse developers, and they will all be blindfolded when it closes as early as January 2022.” Scuba diving instructor in Philadelphia. "This has left the diving community scrambling, heartbroken, and eager to make a difference, and stop this development in order to maintain their educational center."

The clock in the diving community is already ticking, but then again, people who spend a long time underwater may experience this pressure.

The future of Dutch Springs would not be a problem if it were not for the husband and wife co-owners Stuart and Jane Wells Schooley to sell the property. The couple were part of the original team. They stepped in and remodeled the abandoned quarry before opening it as a scuba diving facility in 1980.

After many years of dedication to Dutch Springs, the soon-to-retire Schooleys are sitting on a high-quality real estate. They choose to sell a total of about 95 acres of land.

"We didn't expect this to happen in Holland Springs," said Barnes, whose company uses the lake at least once a month and has groups of 30-50 diving students. "We always knew it was okay, but (not) so fast-never met us. (Stuart Scully) never came to us and said,'I plan to do this, do you want to give me money?? '"

Even if Schooly made this gesture to the diver, Barnes knew it might not matter.

Barnes said: "It would be a great feeling, but in fact, I don't think we can think of a property worth millions of dollars that might provide him." "But if he said,'I can help What are you doing?' We may ask to buy part of the lake or rent it to us, and leave the rest of the property to the developer. He should sell it and do whatever he wants, but this does affect my diving center and surroundings Hundreds of miles of diving centers. I don’t think some of them can survive, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Schooley did not respond to a phone message left by the Dutch Springs office, asking to discuss the sale of the property and its implications for future access to the lake.

Courtesy/Pat McLaughlin Dutch Springs is located in Northampton County, a two-hour drive north of Philadelphia. The lake emerged from the remains of a cement quarry. The former limestone mine and cement plant operated for decades until the mid-1970s. Before the two meetings with the Lehigh Valley Planning Committee next week, the details of Trammell Crow's proposed "Lehigh Valley Trade Center III" are still quite limited, and the committee will review the warehouse plan. The advisory committee will make recommendations to planners in Bethlehem and Lower Nazareth, who need to approve these recommendations in their respective cities.

Holland Springs is located in Northampton County, a two-hour drive north of Philadelphia. The lake emerged from the remains of a cement quarry. The former limestone mine and cement plant operated for decades until the mid-1970s.

Earlier this month, Lehigh Valley Live reported that the developer wanted to integrate the Dutch Springs site at 4733 Hanoverville Road. Part of the lot adjacent to the west. The property will then be subdivided into two plots.

In Lower Nazareth, a 295,750-square-foot industrial building is planned, while in Bethlehem, the developer seeks to build another 299,796-square-foot industrial building and a 173-square-foot guardhouse.

Trammell Crow is a well-known developer that spans multiple business areas, but did not respond to requests for more information about its proposal.

The company previously developed the original Lehigh Valley Trade Center in Bethlehem in 1985 and has obtained approval for Lehigh Valley Trade Center II, another 527,500 square foot warehouse project planned near Holland Springs on Hanoverville Road , Also across Bethlehem and Lower Nazareth.

It is not clear what will happen to the developer's plans for the Dutch Springs property, especially the lake that is so important to the diving community.

Although there are some indications that access to the lake may be reserved for emergency services for public safety training, this is ultimately only a small part of the diving population currently using the lake.

"Public safety will be rescue and response," said Pat McLaughlin, diving safety officer and active diving instructor at Camden Adventure Aquarium. "I don't want to comment negatively on this, but the interesting thing about these projects is that there are diving teams in many places and a lot of training, but for what they actually do, they are not asked to do so much. It's more like It’s something you join the training and hope you never have to actually do it. My feeling is that they say they allow access to public safety may just be a PR initiative."

32-year-old McLaughlin grew up in the Philadelphia area and spent most of his childhood in Dutch Springs. His father was a dive shop owner and dive instructor, and often took McLaughlin and his twin brothers to the lake.

"During my childhood, we spent almost every weekend there," McLaughlin said. "It's a bit like our version of a beach house. We have a camper there and we will live in it. My dad will teach all weekend. I was officially certified on my 12th birthday there and can dive there."

McLaughlin said that the Dutch Spring has had a profound impact on divers over the past 40 years, and they believe it is a well-run place for learning and good times.

"If you are a diver, you have probably heard of Holland Springs. Anywhere I have been-the Pacific Northwest, the Caribbean, Florida-people ask where you are from, and if you say Philadelphia, they will say, "Oh, you must have dug that quarry there," McLaughlin said. "It's like a sanctuary for the local diving community. You will find some people there in the spring to clear the spider webs and test the equipment. You let people go there just because diving there is fun. I may have about 1,500 diving there and I will not be bored. "

Courtesy/David Barnes. This jet, submerged in Dutch Springs, was one of many large vehicles that sank in the popular Lehigh Valley Lake. Divers are trained by exploring vehicles. When McLaughlin heard of Holland Spring’s warehouse proposal, he felt both painful and frustrated that he might lose the signs of who he is today. He remembered some of his earliest memories and saw Stu Schooley driving alone to empty the trash can around Holland Spring. McLaughin said that even in his 70s, Schooly was still very smart and directed traffic in the park very early.

The jet that sank in Dutch Spring was one of many large vehicles that sank in the popular Lehigh Valley Lake. Divers are trained by exploring vehicles.

"He not only devoted his career to creating what it is. But for what he did for the diving community, I don't think we are all as grateful as we should be, so it is a thankless to him Go through him," McLaughlin said. "I think that's why this sale was done under the radar. Everyone discovered it through news articles."

Considering the lucrative land that Schooley can obtain from a major development transaction, McLaughlin understands why he might be easily out of touch with the diver's concerns.

"He has retired. He will never get from the diving industry what he gets from this type of transaction," McLaughlin said. "If I'm in his position, I think everyone there agrees that it's easy to do what he does. It's a bit bad for us."

In the past decade, a large number of warehouses have sprung up in Pennsylvania, and the Lehigh Valley has been zeroed out. The New York Times investigated this phenomenon earlier this year.

The Lehigh Valley is close to New York City and other commercial centers, and its strategic location attracts projects like Holland Springs, which used to be Moravian farmland before it became a quarry.

Billions of dollars have been invested in reusing existing manufacturing facilities and building new warehouses on coveted land that is scarce every year.

In some cases, warehouses are speculatively built before tenants even sign the project. They are advertised as a valuable logistics center and source of employment, and the manufacturing heritage of the region has gradually diminished in recent decades.

The salaries of warehouse jobs are usually not as high as in the heavy industry jobs of the past, but their prevalence in the Lehigh Valley signals that an undeniable transformation is underway.

Northampton County Administrator Lamont McClure Jr. opposed the proposed warehouse project in Dutch Springs. The county has limited input and no power in the planning process, but McClure hopes the district will better understand the stakes when considering such proposals.

"I don't approve of rebuilding a warehouse in Northampton County," McClure said. "You have to strike a balance between economic development and job creation and land protection. We have reached a tipping point in Northampton County. This balance is tilting towards job creation and economic development, but this balance is caused by Warehouse-driven. One of our concerns about job creation driven by warehouse development is—you know, within 10 years, logistics companies no longer plan to use humans in these places."

Automation has made great progress in eliminating warehouse work for people-speed and thoroughness are still a matter of debate-but there is reason to believe that the quality and stability of work with more machines may be poor. If this is the case, McClure believes that the decisions facing Lehigh Valley planners have become more realistic, not only in terms of the work done by residents, but also in terms of how it changes the community.

"We are very worried that these hundreds of thousands of square feet of large-scale development projects are losing important farmland and environmentally sensitive land. These projects will not hire anyone for 10 years," McClure said. "Our quality of life is threatened. This is what we really do here: strike a balance between the very high quality of life we ​​enjoy in Lehigh Valley and the idea of ​​being some kind of inland port."

McClure did not speak directly with the developers of the Dutch Springs project, but he believes their goal is to surround the quarry.

"I think the developer may want to reduce the potential liability of the quarry," McClure said. “I’m not sure it knows how to do this best. In Northampton County, we’re trying to figure out how the quarry might fit our overall park and environmentally sensitive protection plans. We’re considering, but those plans It's preliminary."

In the past few years, Northampton County has invested approximately US$12 million in farmland protection and open space. Although McClure may try to find some compromises in the Dutch Springs proposal, he admits that he is not overly optimistic about the outcome.

"I know that having a diving and diving training quarry is important to the diving community and first responders," McClure said. "From the county's perspective, we really don't want to see warehouses anymore - we really don't want to see more farmland, empty land or other sensitive land being plowed and paved into warehouses."

The speed of development around Holland Springs is obvious, even for divers.

"For the past 10 years, I have owned Scubadelphia, and even before that, it used to be quiet at night," Barnes said. "Now you have a truck beeping and reversing, accelerating on the road. The sound is getting louder and louder. I don't know what the neighbors do. There are many houses in that area."

McLaughlin said that the location around Holland Springs—between Pennsylvania Routes 512 and 191 and U.S. Route 22—has changed dramatically in his life. The entire south wall of the property used to be trees, but now there are warehouses on the edge of the quarry cliff.

"You can do night dives in Dutch Springs without even bringing a flashlight, because the area is heavily polluted," said McLaurin, whose senior project at the university is a 70-page case study on the history of Dutch spring landscapes. "Even if you are camping and sleeping outside, you can hear the traffic on Highway 22 throughout the night, or you can hear the sound of industrial parks and airports. In the past, we drove there, and when we got off highway 22, it was all farmland. Now it's all industrial. Park. You can’t even take the same road because they changed the road and demolished an old restaurant there. You have to literally make a detour through the industrial park.”

The available land in the area is so limited and highly sought after that McLaughlin believes that Dutch Spring Lake is just an afterthought by the developer.

"As far as a profitable person is concerned, diving is not worth the land-that's why Stu had to build a water park," McLaughlin said, referring to the expansion of Dutch Springs in the 1990s to include other recreational facilities. "It's more like an iconic place, and I think that's why the petition is becoming more and more popular. Ask anyone in the area where they are certified for diving, and they will tell you Dutch Springs."

Rajauski, the creator of the petition, agreed with McLaughlin's view that Schooley and his wife should enjoy their retirement and their contribution to the diving community. She hopes that Schooly can hear the call to protect the lake and advocates that it continue to serve as a student certification center and continue to develop the diving community in the Northeast.

"It is heartbreaking to think about how this will affect the communities we are all trying to grow," Rajoski said. "Dutch is really a safe place for students to study, as I said in the petition, a place for all tutors to meet and catch up. Every month is a family reunion. Imagine that all of this is impossible. Imagine throwing away more warehouses."

Courtesy/Pat McLaughlin's Dutch Spring, with the chimney of the closed cement factory in the distance. To learn more, Barnes sent Trammell Crow questions about their plan via email, but he did not receive any response.

The view of the Dutch Spring, and in the distance is the chimney of the closed cement factory.

"Everyone is silent about this, so I don't know what the exact plan is," Barnes said. "I don't know if they will backfill that water."

At Bainbridge Quarry, which was once a 27-acre spring lake in Lancaster County, Barnes sold the land to the county’s solid waste management agency in 2015 and discovered a large amount of diving resources. Disappeared. The lake is used to cool the turbines and is used for final emptying. It is illegal to enter the property.

Holland Spring’s proposal seems to follow a well-established script to promote the development of areas resisted by the community. In this case, resistance becomes more difficult because many divers and businesses who use Dutch Springs do not live in the area.

McLaughlin said: "From the plan I heard, they just fenced the lake and built it by the lake, which is terrible." "I hate the word'development' because when you are in the fence and take How can you develop something when you walk something that is already very suitable for a specific purpose?"

In this later planning stage, the diving community’s game plan is to apply pressure by stating the gaps that will be left if it is no longer accessible.

"Everyone is trying to approach it from a different angle, just making some noise around it to make people realize what we are going to lose," McLaughlin said.

Throughout August, discussions about the future of Dutch Springs have been a hot topic in the diving community, both online and among colleagues in the industry.

In addition to support, McLaughlin also saw some cynicism about the petition, mainly from stubborn senior divers who believe that the ocean is the ultimate place for diving, not a 50-acre training lake.

"People on the Internet will say,'What does a petition do?' In Facebook and other groups, people say that money speaks. If you want to save money, why not bid?" McLaughlin said. "Diving can be a self-driven sport and has some masculinity, so people are like, well, if the Dutch spring is closed, then come and dive into the sea...you will see a lot of people saying,' It’s just Dutch, no one will miss it' — but I think if we can’t go there, we will really miss it. It’s impact on us is much greater than people think.”

Holland Spring’s website has a bright red banner on its homepage, stating that Friday, August 20th is the last day the water park and sky park will open.

Scuba diving in the lake will continue until November 14, and special events will be held again on New Year's Day.

Barnes suspects that January 1 will be the last day of diving in Holland Springs, unless other arrangements are made to ensure its future.

"We are working tirelessly to find other places that can imitate Holland Springs, but nothing can compare," Barnes said. "They have monopolized the market here for many years. We are not entirely sure what to do, and we hope someone can save part of the lake-at least for us."

There are many other quarries in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, but none are as safe as Dutch Springs, and there are red tapes even to enter these quarries. McLaughlin said that Delaware Water Gap has some good diving areas, New Jersey has some gems, and there is always a coast-but the situation is different.

"One thing that really sets Dutch Springs apart-why it is so important to us-is that it is very suitable for diving. If it is by far the safest training facility, it might be in the country. At any time, there are three lookouts. Taiwan diving patrol station is like a diver’s lifeguard. And there are usually ambulancemen on the scene. I think the biggest loss is the ability to train freshmen. There is no other place in the Northeast that can guarantee such good conditions. The students are in your place in Holland Springs. In number."

Courtesy/Pat McLaughlin The sun sets over Holland Springs in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania. The Jersey Shore will always be an option, but there are disadvantages, Barnes explained.

The sun sets over Holland Springs in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania.

"We like to dive shipwrecks in New Jersey," Barnes said. "We just went to sea last weekend and Saturday was beautiful. We had a great time diving there. Then on Sunday, the boat left the entrance and the waves were so crazy that we had to turn around and come back. That's not it." "It won't happen in the Netherlands." Spring. We can go there anytime. If it rains or winds, that’s great. We can get in and out of that water easily. People don’t get seasick. We can easily certify students.”

In Dutch Springs, Barnes barbecues throughout the weekend and turns the training into a large social event for students, faculty, staff, and friends. There is no other place in the area to accommodate divers.

Over time, Barnes said he contacted the local police department and asked quarry officials whether they must be monitored due to teenage drinking and jumping into the water, sometimes injured and need help.

Barnes said: "If we can find an owner of these quarries and buy or lease it, then we will patrol ourselves." "That will help us and help the landowners. We will make things go well. Go on. We'll be fine."

But Barnes admitted that he had talked with colleagues at other dive shops that if Holland Springs were closed, he was not sure they would succeed.

"I don't know if some of the smaller stores will survive," Barnes said.

During the first few months of the coronavirus pandemic, Dutch Springs was closed to divers until July 2020. McLaughlin was training divers in a store in Horsham, and he said he noticed that the local diving community was at a loss. When he mentioned other places to go, some of them were not interested.

"They are like, no, we would rather not teach now," McLaughlin said. "So if the Dutch are not there, many shops and instructors may not be bothered. We may lose a lot of the motivation we have gained in terms of new students and new divers. After a few years, you will see the quality of divers decline because they have no place. Practice. It’s kind of scary."

Rajauski and her siblings (including a disabled brother) obtained Scubadelphia certification in Dutch Springs and fell in love with the environment. She went on to establish a program called The Miss Scubadelphia Advanced Training Grant to provide opportunities for women interested in diving.

"The diving community welcomed me with open arms and really gave me the ability to continue diving," Rajuaski said. “It’s really important for me to pass this on to other women. If I didn’t get an open water certification in Dutch and had such an amazing experience in the community like me, I don’t think I would become a coach or have Start funding."

The diver has not given up hope for Holland Spring.

"At this point, we just want to enter the lake and hope that anyone there will work with us," Barnes said. "We are willing to cooperate with anyone to buy or lease the lake."

McLaughlin admits that protecting the road to Dutch Springs is not easy. This will require coordination among divers and preparations to resolve the liability issues that may arise from joint control of the lake.

"In a perfect world, since the sale has ended and it sounds like it hasn’t stopped, what I want to see is Stu, his wife, the developer, and the county and local government work together to find a way to keep access to the lake for the diving community. Use," McLaughlin said.

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