Those trekking the Delaware Canal State Park towpath from New Hope Borough to Center Bridge in Solebury Township are being met with the stench of rotting fish and swarms of flies after a mechanical failure has left the waterway dried up.
The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) confirmed that the Center Bridge pump, which supplies water to the New Hope section of the Delaware Canal State Park from the Delaware River, was found knocked over and is non-functional.
The outage has led to a drop in water levels and left the canal bed exposed.
Passersby along the towpath have reported the smell of rotting fish and an increase in insect activity due the loss of water flow. Much of the canal is now dry and there are pockets of fish carcasses.
According to state officials, the cause of the pump’s displacement remains unclear.
“The river levels in the Center Bridge area of the canal are normal for this time of year, and no known storm event impacted the pump,” the DCNR said in a statement.
Officials additionally found electrical malfunctions involving the switch that controls the pump.
Maintenance crews are waiting for river conditions to recede and level out before they can upright the equipment.
Once the pump is returned to its proper position, the DCNR plans to conduct further electrical diagnostics and necessary repairs, according to the state.
“Current conditions indicate that water levels in New Hope are decreasing,” the DCNR stated. “We will provide updates on timelines for returning the pump to service as soon as possible.”
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