A Pennsylvania landowner’s 7-foot stone dam was built as a swimming hole; removal aimed to improve Smithtown Creek’s water quality and fish habitat
A 7-foot stone dam built for swimming left Smithtown Creek in 2006. Two sources show what removal can improve and what can take years to settle.
In 2006, a 7-foot stone dam known as the Lochner Dam was removed from Smithtown Creek on the Delaware River in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Originally built to create a swimming hole, the dam was funded partially by a Free-Flowing Pennsylvania grant. However, the removal did not immediately improve water quality and fish habitat, as another dam further downstream prevented upstream access.
Only 2% of dams in the U.S. are removed, but these projects are often driven by aging structures and higher repair costs. Pennsylvania has led the nation in dam removals, with 390 removed by the end of 2023. A study on the Manatawny Creek in southeast Pennsylvania found that while water quality remained relatively unchanged after dam removal, sediment movement and habitat changes affected some fish species downstream.
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