Some dams can serve as critical components of water infrastructure by providing water supplies and flood control. However, the small dams along the creek do not provided any of these benefits. These dams were originally built in the 1900s to provide energy to mills that today no longer operate. These dams provide no ecological or economic benefits to justify their continued operations beyond their useful lifespan.
An ecological study looked at these three proposed dam removals. The study involved the collection of over five years of pre-removal monitoring data. The study found a strong correlation between water quality and macro-invertebrates in this system, implying that removal of the lower three dams would lead to improvements in water quality, biotic integrity, and resilience in lower Bushkill Creek (Rothenberger et al. 2017).
Currently there is much interest in the restoration of rivers and streams in the United States for many reasons beside the ecological benefits. Restoration efforts have been shown to also revitalize the economic conditions in some areas where streams and rivers are located while also improving the well-being of residents.