Overview of rivers in Pennsylvania

Rivers of Pennsylvania: Overview of Pennsylvania whitewater, Pennsylvania paddling, Pennsylvania canoeing, Pennsylvania kayaking, Pennsylvania rafting, Pennsylvania fly-fishing, Pennsylvania river conservation, Pennsylvania river law, and Pennsylvania river access.

(In this space we will post an overview of rivers and river recreation in Pennsylvania as soon as possible. In the meantime, note that the rivers of Pennsylvania are described in books and videos available from the NORS Resource Center.)

(If you would like to post an overview of the rivers in Pennsylvania, please post it to the River Rendezvous, State River News, Pennsylvania News and Opinions section, or e-mail it to us at nors@rmi.net, and we will insert it here.)

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The following news is assembled from postings from various sources, as a public service. The sponsors of this website do not assume responsibility for accuracy. Always double-check information before relying on it, especially when your safety is involved!

STATEWIDE ISSUES:

SPECIFIC RIVERS Click to jump down to descriptions and news about:

Lehigh River

Groups sue over Corps of Engineers' mismanagement of the Lehigh

The Lehigh River Stocking Association (LRSA) report that they, together with the Raymond Proffitt Foundation (RPF), filed a lawsuit in federal court on August 11, 1999 against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The suit alleges mismanagement of water resources on the Lehigh River. LRSA and RPF are working with other environmental and sporting groups concerned about the Lehigh River.

The Corps built and operates the Francis E. Walter Dam, which controls all water in the Upper Lehigh River and is located in Carbon and Luzerne Counties. The dam was originally built for flood control. In 1990, Congress changed the purpose of all Corps projects to include environmental protection. According to Jim Slinsky of LRSA, "Somehow the Corps never caught on that their mission had changed."

The lawsuit has two goals. The first is to prevent the Corps from dumping huge amounts of water into the Lehigh during the winter and spring. Such flooding causes environmental damage to spawning fish and other aquatic life and kills nesting birds and their young who in the spring locate downstream from the dam's releases.

The second goal is to require the Corps to store the water during the winter and spring and then to release it slowly during the summer months. This would provide 11 to 27 billion gallons of extra water to the Lehigh River, providing recreational opportunities as well as a resource during droughts.

"Imagine what 11 to 27 billion gallons would do to the encroaching saltline in the Delaware," said Jim Slinksy. The Lehigh flows into the Delaware high enough to be able to push back any salt intrusion.

The Corps has agreed to store and release this water on previous occasions. "The only catch is that they demanded to be paid for it," said Joe Turner. The money requested is not for simple operation and maintenance, but a whopping $171,000 per year to help pay for the original cost of building the dam, calculated at today's interest rates.

According to the suit, however, the dam was already paid for with tax dollars. In addition, the water belongs to the citizens of Pennsylvania,not the Corps.

On August 2, 1999, the Corps agreed, for money, to begin storing water for drought control. The consequence of this action is to reduce the flow that is already going into the Lehigh River. Jim Slinsky had the following comment on this development: "I do not understand why the Corps is reducing the flow in the Lehigh River during a drought. They claim they are doing so to store water for drought control, but we are already in a drought. They are killing the river to save the river. They should have stored water in the early stages of the drought, as we repeatedly asked them to."

The lawsuit asks the court to require the Corps to sit down with the fish and wildlife agencies and a coalition of interested environmental and sporting groups to develop a schedule for the releases that will satisfy everyone.

For further information contact John Wilmer at (610) 565-2736 or jwilmer@ix.netcom.com or Jim Slinsky at (610) 262-2143.

(This calendar is assembled as a public service, using postings from individuals. The sponsors of this website assume no responsibility for the accuracy of the listings, or the quality of the events. Always double-check information before relying on it.)

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