The fish ladders that have successfully enticed shad and other fish to migrate from the Delaware River into the Lehigh River are victims of the January 20 flood in the Easton area.

Almost 14 feet of silt, tree limbs, bicycles and other debris cover the fishway, reported Dirk Fox, maintenance supervisor with the Delaware Canal State Park in late February.

Fox said removal of the silt was expected to begin February 22, and described it as a difficult task to avoid damage to the chambers. He said an hydraulic excavator, a vehicle on tracks with a long broom stacking out the front, will be used. While contracting for the excavator, Fox said, park employees will be handling the rest of the work.

"If we can get in with this equipment," Fox said, "it will save us a lot of time compared to if we have to tackle it by hand."

Calling the removal a delicate operation, Fox said the workers using the piece of equipment have to be careful not to nick or break off the paint of the chambers because it could damage the migrating fish.

He said at first it was thought the culverts could be cleaned out with a hose and pump but because of the amount of silt, that could have meant many days of handwork. Fox hopes the excavator can put the fish ladders back in business by mid-March.

Dave Arnold, area fisheries manager for the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, said the spillway from the Delaware River to the fish ladders is in the worst condihon, but the silt has spilled into the next row of chambers, too. Only the posts remain of the fence that protected the ladders.

He said the ladder at the Chain Dam near Glendon was not harmed by the flood.

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