"Irene exacerbated the erosion problems from the March floods. The [Delaware] River level was about the same . . . but unprecedented gravel bars were created by streams and storm drains," Taylor said. "There were downed trees in and across the canal and the towpath."
Taylor said she had seen silt deposits during her 19 years with the nonprofit group, "but the magnitude this time is so much more."
Yet, the blockages along the 58.89-mile canal between Easton to Bristol would have been worse if not for work done after the floods of 2004 to 2006, she said. In that effort, the Friends of the Delaware Canal raised $100,000 for dredging equipment.
The canal is worth fixing for historical and recreational reasons, Taylor said. Opened in 1832 to transport coal and other cargo on mule-towed boats, the canal is a National Historic Landmark. Its towpath is popular for walking, jogging, and bike riding.
Many sections of the towpath are fine, Taylor said, including stretches inland, near Tinicum Park in Erwinna, and from Centre Bridge to Bristol. Others are walkable, "but it's more like rock climbing and climbing around trees."
But the canal also serves an often-overlooked purpose, as a drainage ditch, collecting runoff from local streams, roadways, and housing developments, Taylor said.
Repairs after the floods of 2004 through 2006 cost about $29 million, provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency. Based on the current tight state and federal budgets, funding probably won't match those amounts, Taylor said.
Pointing once again to the good news, she said that, considering other flood damage from Irene and Lee, "it wasn't all that bad" for the canal.
Susan Taylor describes flood damage to the canal at www.philly.com/
delawarecanal
Contact staff writer Bill Reed
at 215-801-2964, wreed@philly.com, or @breedbucks on Twitter.
