Redeeming the Tidal Schuylkill

Redeeming the Tidal Schuylkill. . , The name Schuylkill, Dutch for "Hidden River," was given to the river because plentiful plant life hid the river from view of explorers traveling along the Delaware in the 1600s. Fish were so abundant that from 1822 until 1887 the oldest angling club in the United States, the State in Schuylkill, met just south of here., As industry grew, chemicals, coal residue and sewer runoff contaminated the tidal portion of the river. The Mill Creek Sewer across the river from here directed stormwater to the Schuylkill; other sewers added waste to the river. This pollution caused oxygen levels in the water to drop, seriously damaging the ecosystem., In 1972, the Clean Water Act spurred a cleanup of the river. Thanks to this and other pollution controls, catfish, shad, perch and other fish have returned to the river. If you are lucky, you may even see an otter or dolphin making its way upriver!, [Caption:] , The "Castle," meeting place of the State in Schuylkill fishing club.