PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The Manayunk Canal has been filled with stagnant water for decades, ever since it stopped being used for coal barges. The Philadelphia Water Department is working on a project to once again let river water flow into the canal. It will require closing part of the Schuylkill River Trail, beginning on Monday, for the rest of the year.
From 1853 until the 1940s, headworks near the Flat Rock Dam allowed water to flow into the Manayunk Canal so that barges could deliver coal to textile factories along the Schuylkill and return upriver with goods from the city.
“When the railroad came through, it was really no longer viable to run the barges, so they stopped using the canal,” said Water Department engineer Pete Reilly. He is overseeing the project to reconstruct the canal headworks.
Not that barges will be plying the canal again, but spokesperson Brian Rademaekers said allowing fresh water into the canal will have many benefits.
“It’s really going to be transformative for the trail experience, water quality in the area, the wildlife in the area,” he said. “Great blue herons, green egrets, snapping turtles, bass — all of those species are going to benefit by having more oxygenated, cooler flowing water in there.”
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The trail passes close to the new headworks in one spot, so it must close for safety. That spot is in between the access points at Shawmont and Leverington avenues, so cyclists and pedestrians will have to use nearby Umbria Avenue to pass through until January.
“The construction site is already butting up to the trail. There’s just no way around this section here as we’re doing this heavy work,” said Rademaekers, but he guarantees it will be worth it.
“People are going to have such an enjoyable time when the trail reopens,” he added. “It’s going to be beautiful.”
The massive $15 million project began in March 2022. The new headworks are slated for completion in August 2024, and fresh river water will flow back into the canal for the first time in decades.