Why do sections of the Delaware Canal frequently have LOW water levels – or NO water?
We all know the Canal is beautiful when it is full of gently flowing water. And most of us are also aware of the great destruction periodically caused by water during floods and severe storms. But there is a much less obvious cause of damage to the Canal: a LACK of water.
Canals are built with a clay liner which prevents water from leaking into the surrounding soil. A dry canal allows the clay liner to deteriorate, as cracks form and vegetation begins to poke through, creating what will become “sinkholes” when the water begins flowing again.
The Delaware Canal State Park stretches limited resources as far as they can go, but there’s simply not enough for preventative maintenance that can reduce the impact of flooding and severe storms. Slow response to repair damage – and a practice of emptying long sections of the canal to perform repair and maintenance – merely exacerbates the problem. Delays in obtaining FEMA funds to repair the canal following the 2004 –2006 floods partly explain sinkholes still causing water loss years later.
We’re stuck in a cycle of waiting until it breaks followed by slow repairs that cause further deterioration.
But we can break the cycle! Preventative maintenance, accelerated repairs, and finding ways to keep water in the canal during repair and maintenance are all part of a strategy that can reverse the deterioration witnessed in the past few decades.
Storms and floods are inevitable. Is the Canal a lost cause?
Floods are inevitable… and not new. For over 100 years the Delaware Canal withstood storms and floods while providing a valuable utility: transportation. Since it provided critical utility for the community, the Canal was proactively maintained, and repairs were performed without hesitation. The Canal was rarely without water and therefore developed less sinkholes.
History teaches us that the Canal was successfully operated as a self-sustaining business. There’s no reason we can’t return to having a financially sustainable canal.
Why doesn’t NJ’s Delaware & Raritan Canal have the same problems?
Built at the same time (early 1830s) and stretching a similar length (60 miles), these two canals are remarkably similar. But yet there is a stark difference in the reliability of water depth and flow. The Delaware and Raritan Canal is also a state park, whose budget is actually SMALLER, because it only looks after the trail. Since 1974, the operation and maintenance of the canal waterway is managed by the New Jersey Water Supply Authority, which uses the canal to provide a public utility by delivering 95 million gallons of drinking water per day. That public utility generates approximately $7M in annual revenue, which provides the D&R Canal with a maintenance budget that is 2-3X multiple higher than that of the Delaware Canal.
By re-thinking their business model, NJ was able to transform the Delaware & Raritan Canal from a costly expense into a self-sustaining asset. We can learn from their success!
I keep hearing about all these studies. When will this all be fixed?
Delaware Canal 21’s “top down” approach to achieving sustainability by changing the canal’s business model is a long-term goal that will take several years to accomplish. A paradigm-shift in how the canal is operated requires careful planning and studies.
But the “bottom up” approach is designed to produce real incremental improvements in the short term.
The most significant near-term improvement will come from the Water Augmentation Program, which seeks to install pumps in strategic locations that will augment the canal’s water flow from the Delaware River.
Together with PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, we’ve recently arranged and conducted a test whereby the Point Pleasant Pumping station diverted a portion of the water it takes from the river into the canal. And we’re close to having the funds and other necessary arrangements to install another pump near Marshall’s Island.
In total, Delaware Canal 21 has identified 6 locations for such pumps. For more information visit http://www.delawarecanal21.org/pumps.
What about all these other organizations involved with the Canal?
Delaware Canal 21 is a catalyst that cooperates and collaborates with many other organizations who all have a shared goal of a fully watered canal. While several organizations contribute to the “bottom up” approach of improving the canal, no other organization is playing the unique role that Delaware Canal 21 has taken on by working with all of these organizations from the “top down” to re-imagine the Delaware Canal with a sustainable business model. The following are the organizations that Delaware Canal 21 has collaborated with in the past three years.
The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources is the state agency that stewards the Delaware Canal and all other state parks. Delaware Canal 21 works closely with DCNR on every project.
The Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor is a public-private partnership established by Congress to conserve the cultural and natural treasurers stretching 165 miles from the mountains of northeast Pennsylvania through the Lehigh Valley and includes as its final 60 miles the Delaware Canal. The D&L has worked with Delaware Canal 21 on the Vision Study and many of our Water and Access projects.
The William Penn Foundation is one of greater Philadelphia’s most important philanthropic foundations. Its broad mission emphasizes enhancing civic life and ensuring a sustainable environment – especially watersheds. This generous foundation has provided funding for the Vision Study and many other Water and Access projects.
The Friends of the Delaware Canal is a grass-roots non- profit organization that seeks to restore, preserve, and improve the Delaware Canal. The organization does vital work in raising public awareness of the Canal, organizing events to draw the public to the Canal, interpreting the Canal’s history, and linking the community to the Canal’s legacy by providing educational and recreational activities. It was a key partner in the Vision Study.
The Heritage Conservancy works to protect and conserve open space, natural resources, historical properties and structures. Delaware Canal 21 partnered with the Heritage Conservancy to study the effect of storm-water on the canal.