India, Oct. 31 -- Lochner Dam, built to create a swimming hole, is not what most people picture when they think of river restoration. However, that is precisely what happened with the Lochner Dam, which used to exist on Smithtown Creek, a Delaware River tributary in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. According to the Dam Removal Summary 2023 by American Rivers, it was a 7-foot stone dam that had been constructed to provide a swimming hole.

The dam was removed in April 2006, alongside Ward Dam, another privately owned structure. The entry records that the total cost of the project was about $50,000. It was funded in part by grants from the Free-Flowing Pennsylvania grant program. However, the removal did not produce immediate benefits for migrat...