Manatawny Creek Dam Removal
In recent years, concern over degradation of aquatic resources, issues of liability, and maintenance costs, has led to the removal of several small dams around the United States. Approximately 35 dams have already been removed from Pennsylvania rivers and streams, and an additional 30 are scheduled to be removed over the next one to two years.
Although dam removal clearly has great potential in river restoration, there is little scientific evidence documenting the scope and magnitude of the ecological changes associated with dam removal. As a result of Pennsylvania's leadership in dam removal, the PA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), through the Growing Greener program, has funded several restoration projects including a few that focus on the ecological consequences of dam removal.
In May 2000, the Patrick Center for Environmental Research of The Academy of Natural Sciences, in collaboration with the Greater Pottstown Watershed Alliance, the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, and the Berks County Conservancy, began a two-year multi-disciplinary ecosystem study of the effects of removing the Manatawny Creek dam neat Pottstown, Pennsylvania. This project represents one of the first comprehensive studies attempting to document the large-scale physical, chemical, and biological changes in a river system following dam removal.
The detailed scientific study of the ecological impacts of dam removal had four basic components:
- removing the dam;
- restoring the newly established riparian corridor within the former impoundment area;
- conducting a comprehensive, interdisciplinary study of the physical, chemical, and biological changes in the Manatawny Creek watershed to measure and evaluate project success;
- educating the public and providing technology transfer throughout Pennsylvania concerning the effectiveness of dam removal as a watershed restoration method.
Information on the study site and interdisciplinary study of physical, chemical and biological changes in Manatawny Creek are presented here. Pages on presentations resulting from the project, a page on project partners, and a page with links and other information on dams and river restoration are also provided.