New England Hydropower Co. has recently expressed its interest in creating long-term hydroelectric plants to collect energy from three dams in the Lehigh Valley. One of these dams is the Chain Dam in Easton. Many environmental groups are very concerned about this, making the claim that it has the potential to harm our rivers and wildlife. With the growing interest in removing dams, it’s a bit concerning to still see companies trying to use them as a source of energy.
This is the fish ladder between the Delaware River and the Lehigh River. It is near Easton around the start of the Delaware canal. The dam that is on the Lehigh blocks the path of migration for fish. This forcing of them to spawn elsewhere reduces the survival rate for eggs and newborn fish. In order to help this problem people build fish ladders to help fish follow their regular migration pack.
The ladder in Easton has a clear window to view the fish climbing the ladder. Unfortunately this specific ladder doesn’t have a good reputation of working very well.
While walking through downtown Easton last week, I took this picture of the Easton Dam. It is where the Lehigh River meets the Delaware. In 2017, some people wanted to remove the dam to make the area of downtown Easton an area for white water rafting, fishing, and other recreational activities. Being from New Jersey, it is interesting to me that a lot of the water we get there comes from the Delaware.
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