The Adam T. Bower Memorial Dam (formerly known as the Sunbury Fabridam) is the world's longest inflatable dam. The dam is located just below the confluence of the Western and Main Branches of the Susquehanna River, in Upper Augusta Township, between the town of Shamokin Dam and the city of

Sunbury, Pennsylvania Sunbury is a city and county seat of Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in Central Pennsylvania's Susquehanna Valley on the east bank of the Susquehanna River, just downstream of the confluence of its main and west ...

. The dam is 2,100 feet (640 m) long. When it is raised in the summer time, it creates the 3,000 acre (12 km²) Lake Augusta, which is used for recreation. The dam and lake are part of

Shikellamy State Park Shikellamy State Park is a Pennsylvania state park located at the confluence of the West Branch Susquehanna River and Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania. The park is divided into two sections. The older part, on a bluff on the western bank of th ...

. In 2001, the dam was renamed for Adam T. Bower, Chief Clerk of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 1967–68 and Director of Services during the Pennsylvania Constitutional Convention of 1967-68, by Act 2001-5 of the Pennsylvania General Assembly. There ar
plans underway
to add a

fish ladder A fish ladder, also known as a fishway, fish pass, fish steps, or fish cannon is a structure on or around artificial and natural barriers (such as dams, locks and waterfalls) to facilitate diadromous fishes' natural migration as well as move ...

to the dam. The fish ladder is primarily to allow the American shad to access the upper part of the Susquehanna. For the 2007 season the dam was slated to be deflated slowly over the period from August 20 through August 23. This earlier than usual lowering of the dam was to facilitate the replacement and repair of at least 3 of the synthetic bags which comprise the dam.

Shamokin Dam

On this site there was the earlier Shamokin Dam. This dam maintained an adequate water level for ferry traffic across the Susquehanna from Shamokin (now Sunbury) to the west bank. It was destroyed in March, 1904 by the breakup of 22 inches (56 cm) of ice in the spring thaw. This is the dam for which the west bank town of Shamokin Dam was named. There is another, existing, low head dam 1.2 miles (1.9 km) down stream, for the Shamokin Dam Power Plant.

References

External links

Lake AugustaShikellamy State Park1893 Topographic Map showing the old Shamokin Dam
!-- hide line break from template -->{{coord, 40.8501, -76.8075, region:US_type:landmark, display=title Dams in Pennsylvania Buildings and structures in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania Buildings and structures in Snyder County, Pennsylvania Dams on the Susquehanna River