Damming the Delaware: The Rise and Fall of Tocks Island Dam

by Richard C. Albert

First published in 1987 and named a Choice Outstanding Academic Book the following year, Damming the Delaware is the definitive study of two hundred years of water management history along the Delaware River. The history of the Tocks Island Dam Project is traced from an early 1783 anti-dam treaty, through the highly emotional environmental controversy in the 1970s, to the historic Good Faith agreement of the 1980s. The story involves the water politics of four states, two major U.S. cities, and the federal government, plus the influence of the environmental movement over major public works projects. In this second edition, the author updates the Tocks Island/Delaware River story to 2005. A major shift in the underlying philosophies of Delaware River management during the intervening years is described along with various successes and failures in water management. A Foreword to the second edition is written by Maya van Rossum, the Delaware Riverkeeper and Executive Director of the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, a nonprofit environmental advocacy organization that has both successfully fought dam projects and removed existing dams.

Genres: Nonfiction

224 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1987

Reviews

[Patrick Robbins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book before starting a job in water resources. I thought it was informative and provided a nice history of the project. Arguments for and against the Tocks dam are explained.