Conowingo Dam: Last Chance for a Fair Deal

[@MatthewTeter-j4i]

i am confused....would not the sediment have washed into the bay with every high water event if the dam was not there? the dam just slowed it down until it filled up

[@dstorm7752]

The people talking don't understand that Conowingo also provided electrical power to Harford County, etc, so this isn't a one-dimensional issue as they portray it

[@roypatterson9910]

I used to go fishing here all the time since I was a kid, it's a shame you can't go on the catwalk anymore to fish, because of 9/11! They need to dredge the dam, which would help out a lot, it should be done every so often! I was born and raised in Baltimore City and in Maryland surrounding counties.

[@Omegadoomship]

The debris from the Susquehanna river is not entirely the fault of the Conowingo Dam. Most of the debris comes from upstream from the dam. If the dam wasn’t there, the problem would be the same. Everyone keeps pointing fingers at the dam as of it is the sole cause of the problem when there are many other factors to consider. On of the reasons why Exelon has been reluctant to dredge behind the dam is not because they can’t, it’s a matter of who they claim is to blame for the debris in the first place and have them pay for the cleanup. A vast majority of the Susquehanna river flows through Pennsylvania and it so happens that the Conowingo Dam is the last big obstacle. In all honesty the dredging should be done to help reduce how much debris comes through the spill gates but it is impossible to prevent everything from coming through. During a big storm, debris gets carried by water. Trees, branches and other trash float on the water. The dam must open flood gates in order to prevent serious damage which could cause it to fail which would be a catastrophe for everything downstream. The dam can’t be bothered with keeping debris behind the dam when the water is rising and the dam’s structural integrity is at stake. It is inevitable that debris will pass through the dam. There’s not a lot they can do about during a storm. However while dredging would help to lessen the amount of debris that pass through, it is inevitable that debris floating on the surface might make it through if the flood gates are opened. If the flood gates don’t open to let water though, the dam will eventually fail and you can say goodbye to Port Deposit and Havre de Grace.

[@gregorypeck37]

couldn't of said it any better !!!

[@terrysweitzer6772]

I sometimes sit and marvel at how short sighted human beings can be. Do any of these people understand that if the dam didn't exist the exact same debris would still be coming down the river and floating in our beloved bay! I speak as a person with real skin in the game as our family lives in the water of the upper Chesapeake every weekend from April to November every year! We value the health of ourselves as well as this wonderful bay. That being said, we as a society really need to apply some good old fashioned common sense to these matters. The power companies are not trying to destroy the river and bay for their own profits, they are providing a service that society demands! That means that ALL of us are responsible for the consequences that come with using electricity! The power companies go to work everyday for the exact same reason you and I do, to make a living! Day after day anymore all you hear about is how evil every company is if they turn a profit. You as an individual cannot go to work every day for free! And neither can a corporation. This is simple math folks! And if you force the electricity generator to pay to clean up society's mess, you will eventually not be able to afford that electricity you demand so you can blow dry your hair, or make toast, or run your dishwasher, or whatever other convenience or lifesaving device you can't live without!

[@SpacePanda229]

This is the same as blaming the shower drain because it got clogged from you shaving your head in the shower. BLAME NY!! BLAME PA!! BLAME UPSTREAM, NOT THE LOWEST PORTION!!!

[@markzang4918]

Am I missing something here, so having to clean up the debris in and on the creeks and rivers of the bay is the fault of a concrete structure that doesn't move, doesn't give off harmful chemicals and this is the main contributor of debris? To the contrary. It stops most of it. I drive across the dam all the time and I see the trash that collects behind the dam due to the deplorable habits of mankind. Half of the trash in your video probably came out of your very neighborhood. Look at this way, you drag a pool skimmer around in a pool to pick up all of the leaves and bugs. The dam does this by stopping all of the debris that you speak of from heading further downstream out of Pennsylvania and New York state and remember there are two more dams on the Susquehanna just upstream in Pennsylvania. This nasty problem you speak of comes from all of the surrounding tributaries of the bay. When is the last time any of you compared the clarity of the water in the Susquehanna River to the water clarity in your own rivers where you live? In most parts of the river as you get closer to the dam you can see the bottom. But I can't see 10-12 inches into "your" waterways from storm water runoff, drainage from roadways with the oil and fuel contaminants, construction sites with the dirt flowing into the creeks filling them with silt. That big ole tractor tire in your video, do you believe that that thing made it over the dam and up into your area? I think you better go to the local farmer just upstream that has brand new tires on his tractor. Most of you in this video are not old enough and have not seen the decline of the bay due to industry around the Baltimore area but us old timers remember the amount of pollution that was allowed by the EPA and the state of Maryland to dump into the bay with little or no repercussions. How many times in the last 3 years has Baltimore city had a wastewater release in the 10s and 100s of thousands of gallons of raw sewage into the bay with no repercussions whatsoever? By the way thanks for filling a lawsuit in the courts to sue Exelon. Do you honestly believe that you hurt this huge company financially? No, you're a knucklehead, Exelon only past this new expense onto the costumer. I should sue you for the large increase in my utility bill. And one more thing DDT nearly caused the American Bald eagle to go extinct year ago. So, I view the habit that the eagle lives in to be a very good telltale sign of the local eco system. So, I ask you how many American bald eagles do you have in and around your waterways? Come on up to the Conowingo dam some sunny day and try to count the number of bald eagles living there. The problem is not the Conowingo dam, It's you.

[@yuritesticoff1141]

Classic blame the ancient dam game

[@kansasscout4322]

Go live in caves then