Norristown Dam is #29 of the original 32 in the Schuylkill Navigation System. This incredible 108-mile system of dams, slackwater pools, canals, and locks was built by hand to tame the river for commerce and power. It stretched from the coal-rich mountains of Schuylkill County to Philadelphia's Fairmount Water Works, the landmark pumping station at Dam #32. Norristown Dam was one of the first to be completed, in 1819. Hundreds of mills and other factories sprang up along the new canals, as coal transported from the mountains literally fueled the Industrial Revolution in this region. Unfortunately, the pollution of the river soon followed.
Native Schuylkill River animals placed in this cache:
great blue heron
largemouth bass
smallmouth bass
pumpkinseed sunfish
channel catfish
bald eagle
bullfrog
northern water snake
The Schuylkill now has fifty species of fish, as well as other animals that feed on them, including the humans who come to its banks with fishing rods. These are all ecological indicators of watershed health. In the 1940s, the river ran black with coal silt and other wastes, and there were no fish at all. The government Schuylkill River Project of 1947-51 dredged the river and removed most of the dams, so the river could clean itself again. Recently, the American shad has been reintroduced. Along with other anadromous fishes, shad swim upriver in the spring using fishways (a.k.a. fish passages or fish ladders) like the one you are visiting. As of 2009, all four remaining navigation dams have fishways.
The Schuylkill is still the drinking water source for half of Philadelphia, as well as Norristown, Phoenixville, and Pottstown. The Norristown drinking water intake and treatment plant are across the river from this location. The cache is actually in Bridgeport, but it's an easy walk or bike ride, and a fine view, over the Dekalb Street bridge from the Norristown Transportation Center and Schuylkill River Trail.
CONGRATS TO BUGRITO FOR FIRST TO FIND