Tocks Island Dam controversy

A 1950s proposal to construct a dam near Tocks Island across the Delaware River was met with considerable controversy and protest.

In order to control damaging flooding and provide clean water to supply New York City and Philadelphia, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proposed building a dam.

When completed, the Tocks Island Dam would have created a 37-mile (60-km) long lake between Pennsylvania and New Jersey, with depths of up to 140 feet.

[1] The reservoir created by the dam was to extend 37 miles (60 km) upstream to Port Jervis, New York, covering 12,000 acres (4,900 ha).

The need for flood control brought the issue to the national level, and in 1962, Congress authorized the construction of the dam.

The United States government began acquiring, often by eminent domain, land from residents that lay within the boundaries approved for this unprecedented recreation area.

Two such individuals, Nancy Shukaitis and Ruth Jones, formed a group called the Delaware Valley Conservation Association.

Another individual who was instrumental in bringing national attention to the issue was Justice William O. Douglas, who fell in love with the area after visiting Sunfish Pond with his wife.

The further studies prompted by Cahill's objections and by question raised by his successor, Governor Brendan T. Byrne, in 1974 revealed that better and more economical options existed to reduce flood damage and improve water supply than the dam.