OCTOBER 26, 2022:

Tree management is an important element of routine maintenance, especially considering the age of the Canal (hand dug in the 1830’s) and its earthen embankment and clay bottom construction. Tree maintenance activities include removing fallen trees from the Canal and cutting trees that have rooted in structures. Trees that have rooted in structures pose a threat to the integrity and stability of the structures including the embankment itself, retaining walls, spillways, waste gates, culverts, aqueducts, and other flow control structures. Additionally, trees are trimmed along the towpath to allow for the safe passage of the general public and for the vehicles that the Authority and the D&R Canal State Park Service need to maintain the canal and towpath.

Why does the Authority cut down trees along the Canal if they aren’t diseased or dead?

Tree root systems threaten the structural integrity of the Canal and therefore the Authority’s ability to deliver water. Tree roots loosen embankment soils and create seepage paths for water. Seepage paths can develop quickly into large leaks or breaches of the embankments.

The larger the trees become, the bigger the threat they pose. Large trees can be uprooted during windstorms, which can displace a large amount of soil, making the embankment vulnerable to breaching. A breach in the embankment impacts the Authority’s ability to deliver water downstream in the Canal.

Tree roots also damage the historic structures of the canal. For example, in many areas the historic stone armoring of the Canal has been lost due to tree roots dislodging stones. These stone structures were constructed to protect the embankments.

One of many examples of damage caused by trees occurred in recent years in Lambertville on the multi-use trail directly adjacent to "It’s Nutts On the Canal" (formerly Lilly’s on the Canal), where several trees fell into the canal and collapsed a retaining wall. The cost to repair that wall was more than $280,000.

More than 1,000,000 people rely on the canal for water and the Authority is obligated to move an average of 100 million gallons per day of water through it, as measured at Port Mercer. The Authority must take every reasonable measure to properly maintain the canal’s infrastructure in order to protect our ability to continue to deliver water through it.