Delaware Canal 21 Tops One Million Dollars in Grant Funding Brought to the Canal
Delaware Canal 21 and its partner, the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor, are pleased to announce that the William Penn Foundation has awarded them a second round of grants totaling $ 180,000 to support the Delaware Canal. This brings to more than one million dollars the amount of grant support for the canal that Delaware Canal 21 has secured in the past three years.
The current grants will fund six projects along the entire length of the Canal:
1. Canal hydraulics study with focus on Morrisville flooding issues. This study of water flow in the canal, along with precise measurements of the elevations, locations, and capacities of overflow structures and other water management structures, will enable DCNR to deal more quickly and efficiently with flooding and other such water flow management issues. Because Morrisville has experienced significant flooding over the years, the study will focus on practical remedies for the Morrisville area.
2. Investigate new technology, procedures and materials for sinkhole detection and repair. Sinkholes, which tend to develop when the canal is dry for extended periods of time, have been a perplexing problem over the years for the canal maintenance staff. This project will investigate how other canals throughout the world deal with sinkholes and related water loss problems; and will report on new technologies, materials, and repair procedures that could be adapted to improve our canal’s ability to deal with such water loss problems.
3. Design water quality study of canal and its stealth watershed. Did you know that more than 40 small streams, draining more than 40,000 upland acres, empty directly into the canal, making it a significant man-made “stealth” watershed? No water quality studies have ever been conducted with respect to this watershed. This project will design a program for analyzing water quality in the canal watershed.
4. Feasibility Study re Options for canal and towpath access from Downtown Easton. The northern canal head is located just a few hundred yards from the newly upgraded Downtown Easton Riverfront Recreational Area. Yet, there is no adequate pedestrian or bicycle access to the Canal Head from Downtown. Currently only a very narrow sidewalk alongside a very busy highway is available. This project will consider at least three short and long term options to improve pedestrian and bicycle access to the trail head, and will make cost estimates and recommendations.
5. Begin planning with Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission for canal and towpath access at I-95 Scudders Falls. The large parking lot adjacent to the Taylorsville Road interchange with I-95 is an ideal location for access to the Canal and Towpath. Delaware Canal 21 has been in conversation for nearly two years with the Joint Toll Bridge Commission about including as part of the Commission’s current extensive construction project, a visitor center or other first class amenities for recreational users accessing the canal and towpath at this location. This grant will fund the development of a more formal plan for visitor amenities at the site.
6. Planning with Bristol Borough for Improvement/rehabilitation of the Canal’s First Mile. This project will focus on eliminating obstacles to the trail at the canal’s most southern reach, clearly marking where the canal existed before the first mile was filled in, and improving pedestrian/bicycle safety where the trail crosses borough streets. It will lay the groundwork for a potential future effort to “daylight” the Canal in this area.
These grants bring to $1,045,000 the total amount of grant funding Delaware Canal 21 has brought to the Canal in the past two years. “Considering our operating budget is only around $125,000 a year, it’s easy to see that we leverage our donor’s investments by a factor of at least four,” said Douglas Dolan, Executive Director of Delaware Canal 21.
Delaware Canal 21 is a private 501(c)(3) non-profit whose mission is 1) to assure that the Delaware Canal will be fully watered from end to end on a reliable basis, 2) to assure that the Canal has adequate maintenance, including preventive maintenance, and sufficient long range planning to enable the Canal to be watered reliably, and 3) to assure adequate Public access to the Canal throughout its length.