Waste Weir ~ M.C.H.T. Traditional Cache

The "Morris Canal History Tour" series of caches are placed along the canal towpath in partnership with the Waterloo Village Historic Site and the Canal Society of New Jersey to showcase the important early transportation across New Jersey. The Morris Canal connected the Delaware and Hudson Rivers and facilitated development of cities and industry in New York and New Jersey.

A waste weir is a slatted gate on each canal level or pound, that provides a means of removing excess water from the canal, draining a section of the canal for repairs, for the winter shutdown, or in anticipation of flooding. Because rising canal waters could overflow the banks, eroding them and causing a break in the canal, waste weirs were an important safety feature of canals. Waste weirs were often located near feeders that might carry flood waters into the canal, and they often emptied into existing streams.

This overflow structure once contained a wooden gate and was spanned by a towpath bridge. The canal water would lie to the west of the structure. When the water rose too high, it flowed under the towpath planking and over the spillway. Excess water flowed over the gate, maintaining the proper water level in the canal. The gate could also be opened to drain the canal, to allow for repair work.

Waste weirs were often located near where a stream entered the canal, such as this site. The stone walls of the weir are original, but were cut down and capped with concrete during the 1920s dismantling of the canal.