"It is being brought back to life today," Quigley said.
Actually, the vital signs have been strengthening for some time. The Delaware-fed stretch of the canal south of New Hope has held water since spring, and the Easton-to-Raubsville stretch had been test-filled in June.
It will take about a week for the rest of it to fill, said Rick Dalton, Delaware Canal State Park manager.
The festivities capped a $28 million restoration project begun after three devastating floods left gaping holes and rubble where walls and towpaths had been.
"For the first time in six years," Dalton said, "I'm going back to managing a park, not a construction zone."
Completed in 1832, the Easton-to-Bristol canal combined with the Lehigh Canal to ferry anthracite on mule-drawn barges from Northeastern Pennsylvania to Bristol.
After trains took over, the last commercial barge ran in 1931. The canal became state parkland, its towpath a draw for hikers, runners and bikers. Mule-drawn barge rides fast turned into an anchor of New Hope's tourist trade.
That all changed in September 2004, when remnants of Hurricane Ivan dumped more than five inches of rain on the upper end of the Delaware. The resulting flood - at the time, the river's fourth-highest crest - tore up long lengths of towpath, blew out canal banks, and destroyed locks and other structures.
Before repairs could begin, two more devastating floods - in spring 2005 and summer 2006 - ripped even farther into the canal and towpath.
The wreckage, worse than after the record flood of 1955, led some to question the cost of repairing damage that likely would happen again.
Last month, a local editorial dubbed the canal a "money pit," saying the repair money "might just as well be poured right into the river."
