Preliminary Storm Water Study of the Delaware Canal

Delaware Canal 21 and Heritage Conservancy are pleased to announce that the Final Report of their Preliminary Storm Water Study of the Delaware Canal has been published and presented for review and action to the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), the Commonwealth steward of the Delaware Canal.

         The year-long study focuses on the adverse impacts of uncontrolled storm water discharge into the Canal, and various ways to mitigate such  impacts. The study identifies seven sites along the 60-mile Canal where storm water impacts have been particularly severe, and recommends Best Management Practices that could be implemented at each site to mitigate damage to the Canal. 

         For the first time ever, the study recognizes that the Delaware Canal is its own separate watershed, draining approximately 40,000 upland acres via approximately 40 small streams that empty directly into the Canal rather than into the Delaware River. 

“Because it is a man-made “stealth” watershed, it has never before been recognized,” according to William Collins of Simone Collins Landscape Architecture, technical advisor to Delaware Canal 21.  “For all these years, the Canal has been serving as a de facto storm water management facility for those 40,000 acres that drain to the Canal, including many miles of adjacent state highway.”

“The canal is impacted by storm water-related stressors from both sides ranging from large-scale flooding events via the Delaware River to more frequent storm water runoff generated across the land-based watershed,” said Kris Kern, Director of Resource Protection for Heritage Conservancy. “This study considers land uses that contribute to storm water-related impacts to the canal. We hope that the findings and recommendations of the study will facilitate projects that will help safeguard the integrity of the canal.”

         The study was funded by grants totaling $150,000 awarded to Heritage Conservancy from The William Penn Foundation and DCNR.  Delaware Canal 21 has applied to The William Penn Foundation in partnership with the Delaware and Lehigh Heritage Corridor and DCNR for further grants to take this study to its next level and to make specific recommendations for a particularly serious storm water problem in the Morrisville area.

         “We are delighted to be able to help the Canal in this way,” said Allen D. Black, Chairman of Delaware Canal 21.  “Our stewards at DCNR need assistance from other agencies and partners to provide the essential storm water management and community benefits of a watered Canal that are beyond the typical recreation and conservation mandates of most state parks.”

Delaware Canal 21 is a private non-profit 501(c)(3) organization whose goals are:

·      To see the Delaware Canal fully watered from end to end on a sustainable and reliable basis.   

·      To make sure Canal has adequate maintenance, including preventive maintenance, and sufficient long-range planning to keep the Canal watered reliably, and 

·      To assure adequate Public access to the Canal throughout its length.

The full Study Report can be found on the Delaware Canal 21 website: www.delawarecanal21.org