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The C&O Canal Trust, a fundraising group geared at promoting the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park, has announced a $100,000 campaign to shore up funds toward repairing a 125-foot breach in the canal's towpath left after Tropical Storm Hanna.

The National Park Service suspects that pre-existing cracks in the canal may have contributed to the failure, which occurred Sept. 6 close to the popular Old Angler's Inn parking lot in Potomac, combined with increased pressure from excess rainfall during the tropical storm. The cracks expanded, causing water to drain out into the Potomac River, and the pressure eventually lead to a large cavity in the towpath, according to the C&O Canal Trust.

Due to the breach, water was drained out of the canal and into the Potomac River for a roughly seven-mile stretch.

The money will be earmarked to fund draining remaining water from the canal — necessary to stabilize the area for investigators to determine the full extent of the damage —and toward creating a detour around the breach using the interior of the canal, according to Trust president Matthew Logan. The funds will match an additional $100,000 set forth by the National Park Service for the project, Logan said.

The fund was announced at an Oct. 4 community forum at the breach, during which Logan spoke along with park Superintendent Kevin Brandt and Chief Engineer Dan Copenhaver. More than 40 people attended the forum, including County Councilman Roger Berliner (D-Dist. 1) of Potomac and representatives of the offices of U.S. Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin (D) and U.S. Rep. Christopher Van Hollen Jr. (D-Dist. 8), according to the C&O Canal Trust.

"It was a good sign — there were lots of folks out there and participating," Logan said.

Park officials have said that the breach will pose a major financial challenge to the park. "Our budget is never sized to handle a major repair like this," Brandt told The Gazette in September. Though there isn't yet a firm estimate, the repair could take several years and more than $2 million to repair, according to the C&O Canal Trust.

Work began last week on the construction of water-diverting dikes at both ends of the breach to help drain excess water. The building of the dikes is expected to take approximately three weeks, after which the detour will be created.

The C&O Canal trust has also announced a fundraiser for the repair project, which will take place Oct. 25 at the Marwood Mansion in Potomac, and is asking for materials including soil borings and chain link fencing, and professional assistance with surveying and tree removal. Logan said the group would take the opportunity while the canal is dry to remove fallen trees from it. "We're going to take lemons and try to make some lemonade," Logan said.

For more information about donating to the repair of the towpath, visit the C&O Canal Trust's Web site at www.canaltrust.org.