Official name Hepburn Street Dam Status Operational Length 37 m | Country United States Opening date 1986 Construction began 1984 | |
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Owner(s) Pennsylvania State Government Construction cost 11.9 million USD (2016 Dollars) Location | ||
Williamsport dam fishing carp 1 2
The Williamsport Dam, officially known as the Hepburn Street Dam, is a low-head dam on the West Branch Susquehanna River in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. It broke ground in 1984 and was finished in the spring of 1986. It was built for recreation, such as boating, watersports and fishing. It has been described as a "killer dam" and a "drowning machine".
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Williamsport dam
Background
The old Hepburn Street Dam (pre-1984) was made of wooden railroad ties with 4-inch caps between the ties. People were able to walk out across the old dam. The new dam, constructed in 1984–1986, was built for recreation. Before the dam was built, the average depth of the West Branch Susquehanna River was 4.6 feet, with its deepest parts being just under 10 feet deep. Some places were impassable by boat, being only a couple of feet or a few inches deep. Since the construction of the new dam, the average depth of the West Branch Susquehanna is 8.3 feet, with some depths of over 20 feet.
Fish ladder
The Hepburn Street Dam has a fish ladder located on the South Williamsport side of the dam. In 2014 the fish ladder was rebuilt—it was widened because sticks and debris were becoming stuck in the ladder, and more lanes were added so that more fish would be able to use the ladder. Originally, the dam did not have a fish ladder; it was added in the early to late 1990s as a result of pressure on local officials to add the ladder for American shad.