Dock Street Dam, Harrisburg

The Dock Street Dam is a low-head dam that crosses the Susquehanna River between the Shipoke neighborhood of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on the east shore and Lemoyne on the west shore. It is constructed of hollow reinforced concrete buttress dam and was built to create recreational depth as a 3-mile lake, provide floor control, prevent mosquitos, and minimize odors. Turbulence downstream of the dam contrasts sharply with the usually placid, lake-like river above the dam. In spite of the dam the Susquehanna is often just a few feet deep at Harrisburg. Proposals have been made to raise the height of the dam in order to enhance the river’s navigability and recreational potential, although the suggestion remains controversial. The present structure has been criticized as creating currents downstream that can draw small boats upstream into the dam, an effect that has been cited in at least seventeen drownings. Since 1935, there have been over 30 documented fatalities because of the dam. Solutions have been proposed, including the piling of stone or concrete debris south of the dam to disrupt the current, but have not been implemented. ()