Rivers were often dammed to raise the water's height so that the canal could be fed, for instance, the Chesapeake and Ohio canal had seven dams built to feed water.

If a dam was not built, often water had to be pumped. The Chesapeake and Ohio put a steam pump near the South Branch, near mile 174, which had a capacity of about 25 cuft/s, since the water from Dam No. 8 was insufficient. This problem is particularly acute on summit pounds (see below).

On the Delaware Division

1.Previous
3.Next