Sunday, May 12, 2013
Exelon Power is negotiating a new license that would last for 46 years, and state officials say the time is now to resolve the sediment buildup.
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Sunday, May 12
By Jessical Wilde, CAPITAL NEWS SERVICE A 14-mile reservoir behind the Conowingo Dam stops 2 million pounds of sediment every year from flowing into the Chesapeake Bay. But another one million pounds get through, burying underwater grasses that support sea life and adding to the bay’s myriad pollution problems. The reservoir that stores the sediment, essentially dirt and other material carried by the water, is expected to reach capacity within 20 years, after which all of the sediment will get through the dam, putting the bay’s health further at risk. Exelon Power, which owns the Conowingo Dam, is negotiating a new license with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that would last for 46 years. State officials and others say the time is…
Thursday, May 9, 2013
The crash involved four vehicles, according to transportation authorities.
UPDATE (10:12 p.m.)—A crash Thursday night shut down MD Route 1 at the Conowingo Dam for more than two hours. According to the Maryland Department of Transportation, the collision involved four vehicles. It was reported at approximately 7:30 p.m. Thursday. All lanes of US 1 had been shut down at 7:44 p.m. and remained closed until approximately 10 p.m. As of 8:30 p.m., Conowingo Road was closed at Shuresville Road on the Darlington side of the dam, and at MD Route 222 on the Conowingo side, said Rich Gardiner, spokesman for the Harford County Volunteer Fire & EMS Association. Gardiner said that the crash was just before the Conowingo Dam on the Harford County side. He advised drivers to avoid the area, which was congested. Click here for a…
Monday, March 11, 2013
At least two vehicles were involved in the wreck on U.S. Route 1, police said.
UPDATE (10 a.m.)—U.S. Route 1 reopened at 10 a.m. after a crash on the Conowingo Dam blocked access early Monday morning, officials said. The road connecting Cecil and Harford was closed to traffic in both directions after a crash at 6 a.m. Monday. The collision involved a car and a truck, according to Rich Gardiner, spokesman for Harford County Volunteer Fire and EMS Association. Volunteers extricated two people and took them to a local hospital, Gardiner said. At least two cars were involved in the wreck on the dam, which carries U.S. Route 1 over the Susquehanna River between Conowingo and Darlington, a Maryland State Police duty officer told Patch. One person was in grave condition and the other in serious condition, according to …
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Police said the man was identified as Scott Hammer by his driver's license and clothing.
Nearly two months after Scott Hammer's wife reported him missing and a vehicle registered to them was abandoned near the Conowingo Dam, police said his body was found in the Susquehanna River. Hammer, 57, lived on the 300 block of Bourbon Street in Havre de Grace. Maryland State Police said that just before 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, workers at the Conowingo Dam reported seeing a body on a rock when the water level subsided. Since the area was not accessible by foot or by boat, a Maryland State Police helicopter flew in and lowered two flight paramedics with a rescue basket down to the body, according to police. The body was placed in the rescue basket and hoisted from the river, Maryland State Police said. It has been taken to the Office of the …
Monday, February 18, 2013
The crash happened early Sunday near the Conowingo Dam, according to reports.
A Bel Air man is dead after a one-car crash in Cecil County early Sunday. According to multiple reports, the first published by CecilDaily.com, a crash around 3 a.m. Sunday on MD Route 1 near the Conowingo Dam killed Wade Knight Walter, 38, of Bel Air. Maryland State Police said Walter, who was traveling north on MD Route 222, failed to stop at the intersection with Route 1, and was thrown from his car after it rolled, ABC2news.com reported. Walter was the only person in the vehicle, and was not wearing a seatbelt, according to CecilDaily.com. For more Cecil County news, click here.
Friday, February 1, 2013
Seven gates of the dam were open Saturday.
UPDATE (12:50 a.m.)—Conowingo Dam officials said seven gates were open just after midnight Saturday, and they may open up to 10 gates by 8:30 a.m. Two of the dam's 52 gates, which contain the flow of the Susquehanna River, were opened as the water level rose Thursday; they remained open Friday morning. "Drove through the Conowingo Dam Car Wash this morning," one Twitter user said Thursday. "Some serious spray coming over the wall." By 4:30 p.m. Friday, officials had opened seven gates total and said the dam was operating under spill conditions. >> Have you noticed flooding anywhere? Tell us in the comments. << Flooding also caused a mess in Aberdeen. Approximately 3,000 gallons of partially treated sewage overflowed at Aberdeen Proving …
Monday, January 21, 2013
As the dam undergoes a relicensing process, lawmakers and environmentalists debate how to proceed.
By Jessica Wilde, CAPITAL NEWS SERVICE Exelon Power is negotiating a new 46-year license to operate the Conowingo hydroelectric generating dam on the Susquehanna River in northern Maryland, which provides power to more than 700,000 homes. The current license expires in September 2014. But state officials and legislators from the Eastern Shore said Friday that sediment and fish passage issues need to be worked out first in order to better protect the Chesapeake Bay. Sediment levels are one of three major contributors to pollution in the Chesapeake Bay, along with nitrogen and phosphorus, and more and more sediment has been passing through the Conowingo Dam in recent years, particularly during storms. Legislators are frustrated by the amount…
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Natural Resources Police are conducting daily checks by Conowingo Dam, according to Maryland State Police.
Investigators continue to search for a Havre de Grace man reported missing last week, according to Maryland State Police. The man, who is not being identified by police, was one of the registered owners of a Mazda found Jan. 2 near the Conowingo Dam, said Greg Shipley, spokesman for Maryland State Police. "We cannot confirm the man we are searching for was the driver. We suspect he was, but have no positive confirmation at this time," Shipley said. Shipley said that police have reason to believe someone jumped from the Conowingo Dam. After the car was found at 6:44 p.m. last Wednesday, US Route 1 was closed to traffic for two hours while multiple teams investigated the waters around the dam. "The investigation has developed information …
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Police are not yet identifying the 56-year-old man.
The investigation into a possible suicide Wednesday night at the Conowingo Dam centers around a 56-year-old man missing from Havre de Grace, according to Maryland State Police. In a statement issued Thursday afternoon, Maryland State Police said that the man is not being identified as he is still missing and the investigation is ongoing. A passing motorist alerted officials before 7 p.m. Wednesday that a vehicle was abandoned on US Route 1 at the Conowingo Dam, Maryland State Police said. The vehicle, registered to a man and wife in Havre de Grace, was found with its hazard lights flashing and the engine running south of MD Route 222, police said. When troopers contacted the Havre de Grace Police Department for information about the …
Friday, November 30, 2012
The Washington Post and Philadelphia Inquirer recently featured the bird-watching attraction.
Bald eagles are nesting at the Conowingo Dam, and The Washington Post took note, publishing a photo gallery Thursday of birds soaring over the water near the gates. The birds build their nests in Maryland from November to February, according to the U.S. National Fish and Wildlife Service, and lay eggs between January and April. More than 80 chicks were reportedly born last year on Aberdeen Proving Ground alone, according to WJZ, evidence that the bird, which was removed from the endangered species list in 2007, is making a comeback in Harford County and neighboring areas. The trove of bald eagles at the Conowingo Dam has attracted more photographers with long lenses "than on the sidelines of a pro sports event," The Philadelphia Inquirer …
John Cole
8:53 am on Tuesday, May 14, 2013
@HappyGranny: I totally agree; yesterday I was on Rte 272 in Pennsylvania watching farmers spread slurry on fields that drain into the river. How about using a vacuum dredge, running continuously behind the dam, sieving the sludge, and making bricks in a plant on the bank of the river. I suspect this would be cheaper and greener than most brick making operations, which require quarrying. more ›