Starting in 2024
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 the project.
DEMONSTRATION PROJECT
This project expects to achieve the following goals:
Demonstrate how the new entity recommended in the Authority Feasibility Study can partner with DCNR and attract both state and federal funds to Delaware Canal improvement projects.
Advance priority projects to the “shovel-ready” status to make them eligible for the funding made available by the Federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act before the program expires in 3 years.
Pursue a package of tasks that address multiple hydraulic problems, enhancing the ability to sustain and regulate water flow in the entire 60 miles of the canal.
completED in 2022
Click on the picture above or one of the buttons below to read the final report or an executive summary (as PDFs).
Delaware Canal - authority feasibility
This project explores the feasibility of forming an Authority or Improvement District to restore the Delaware Canal to a fully-watered state and ensure future financial sustainability.
Report findings include:
best practices and case studies of alternative governance and funding models
engineering requirements for achieving a fully-watered canal
estimated economic benefits of the canal
prescription of a stewardship model to support DCNR and the Canal
potential funding sources
completED in 2020
Click on the picture above or the button to the right to read the final report (as a PDF).
Delaware Canal Workbook - water and trail
An outgrowth of the award-winning Delaware Canal Vision Study, these projects were identified as areas of concern that could be addressed in the short-term while Delaware Canal 21 continues to focus on exploring alternative ideas for addressing the future of our historic Delaware Canal.
morrisville flooding
leak mitigation
water quality monitoring
easton portal access
yardley towpath access
scudder falls (I95) bridge link
Bristol portal daylighting
COMPLETED - 2017
Click on the picture above or the button to the right to read the final report (as a PDF).
Delaware Canal stormwater study
The Delaware Canal not only diverts water from the Lehigh River (in Easton) and Delaware River (in New Hope) and eventually give that water back to the Delaware River in Bristol - it also serves as a "Stealth Watershed" for 40,000 acres that drain from local creeks directly into the Canal.
This study acknowledges and address the Canal as a storm water management resource, and looks to find ways to mitigate storm water damage to Canal infrastructure while also maintaining water quality.
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.
COMPLETED - 2016
Click on the picture above or the button below to read the final report (as a PDF).
Delaware canal vision study
The purpose of the study was to identify the long range needs, goals, and dreams for the Canal as envisioned by the Canal’s numerous constituencies including public officials, private citizens, businesses, and canal communities, stakeholders, and users.
The final report synthesized comments and suggestions collected in 6 public meetings and 5 stakeholder meetings with public officials, and close involvement from critical partners such as the Delaware & Lehigh Corridor and the Friends of the Delaware Canal.
The result in an inventory of 65 "bottom up" projects that would improve specific aspects of the Canal. This inventory forms the basis for prioritizing various needs and opportunities identified in the study, and for helping DCNR to find new ideas, new partners, and new sources of funding that can help to make the needs and opportunities into reality.
ONGOING
Check back soon for more details.
WATER AUGMENTATION
This project installs a comprehensive system of backup watering pumps to augment the Canal water levels during times of low flow and disruptions due to the construction or storm damages.
Priorities include:
acquire and install new pumps at Marshall Island and other locations
enable the Point Pleasant Pumping Station to pump some of its water into the Canal
negotiate/implement a legislative solution to fund periodic electricity costs for backup pumps