DELAWARE CANAL WATERWAY AUTHORITY FEASIBILITY STUDY

Following three consecutive years of devastating Delaware River flooding in the early 2000s, the PA DCNR Bureau of State Parks pursued a partial watering policy for the Delaware Canal based on the assumption that the public would accept such a solution as the unfortunate reality of the limits of State Parks budgets. However, public meetings and surveys showed a strong commitment to maintaining a fully watered Canal.

In response, three citizen-based planning projects were conducted by regional non-profit partners, all in partnership with PA DCNR. The studies solicited public opinions, collected data, and assessed potential structural and operational alternatives to the status quo State Parks-only management model for the management of the Delaware Canal.

Delaware Canal 21, with financial and in-kind support from the PA DCNR, PA DCED, Bucks and Northampton Counties, commissioned a feasibility assessment for a new collaborative funding model that could helpto achieve the consensus goal of a fully watered canal. This feasibility analysis is the fourth effort and builds on the previous three studies.

project status: COMPLETED

In September, 2021, Delaware Canal 21 engaged Econsult Solutions, Inc. to manage this project, with support from the planning firm Simone Collins and engineering firm eDesign Dynamics.

Over the course of a year, this team:

• researched best practices and case studies of alternative governance and funding models

• conducted an in-depth engineering analysis of what it would take to achieve a “watered” Canal

• estimated the economic benefits of the Canal

• developed a new stewardship model to support DCNR and the Canal

• identified potential funding sources

The results of this project are very promising.

Please click below to view the full detailed report or the summary.

Next Steps

Pennsylvania State Senator Steve Santarsiero is enthusiastic about the Authority Feasibility Study findings. With his support, Delaware Canal 21 was awarded a $75,000 grant via the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation & Natural Resources (DCNR) in 2023 to advance the agenda laid out in the study. With those funds in hand, Delaware Canal 21 has applied for three additional grants that will combine to fund a project to demonstrate how a new public/private partnership can significantly advance critical parts of the public consensus goal to re-establish a fully watered canal from Easton to Bristol.