The Conowingo Dam in Conowingo, Maryland, resides in the Lower Susquehanna River about 9.9 miles from the Chesapeake Bay - the second largest estuary in the world. It is a masonry gravity dam built in 1928 and is currently owned by Constellation Energy. In 1925, Philadelphia Electric Company awarded the construction contract to Stone & Webster of Boston. Construction started in 1926 and was completed in 1928. During that time, it was the second largest hydroelectric project in the U.S. after Niagara Falls. The total length of the dam is 4,649 feet with a height of 94 feet and it supports a 9,000-acre reservoir with an active capacity of 71,000 acre-feet. The impounded river forms the 14-mile long Conowingo Reservoir. The lake is used for water supply to Baltimore and Chester Water Authority, as well as for the cooling plant at Peach Bottom Nuclear Power Facility. The dam has 11 turbines that generate 548 Megawatts electricity at 13,800 volts that is used by Philadelphia, PA. The dam has 53 flood gates that are selectively operated when the reservoir levels rise due to storm events. The maximum water depth in the lake is 105 feet.

Porphyritic granite gneiss forms the westerly half of the foundation, while dark-colored dioritic to meta gabbroid rocks form the easterly half of the foundation. Also dikes and schistose bands are encountered especially in the easterly section. Joints and foliation ranging from moderately inclined in the granite rocks to comparatively steep in other portions of the formation were also observed.

For decades the Conowingo Dam on the Susquehanna River in Maryland trapped much of the sediment and nutrients carried by the river and prevented it from reaching Chesapeake Bay. However, today the area behind the dam has silted in, more quickly than anticipated. Major storms scour some of the sediments behind the dam and carry it to Chesapeake Bay. Bay states (MD, VA, PA, NY, DE, WV, and DC) have agreed to share some of the responsibility for this problem. The regional clean-up plan referred to as the ‘Chesapeake Clean Water Blueprint’ recommends that the most cost-effective solution would be to stop pollution from entering the Susquehanna in the first place.

Susquehanna is the East Coast’s longest river and is the best spot in the U.S. for seeing Bald Eagles. From November through January, eagle-eyed birdwatchers arrive from far-flung destinations to view hundreds of the birds that have migrated from New York and Canada.

 

 

 

 

Dr. Visty P. Dalal’s Biodata

 

Visty is a senior engineering geologist at the Maryland Department of the Environment with over 33 years of experience in the Water Management Administration. For the first ten years, he was the Division Chief of ‘Dredging Coordination and Assessment Division’, responsible for guiding and issuing permits for the technical projects related to dredging of the Port of Baltimore’s navigation channels and the disposal of clean and contaminated dredged materials arising from them. He is the recipient of the prestigious President H.W. Bush’s ‘Coastal America Award’ presented for his work on ‘Poplar Island Environmental Restoration Project’ in the Chesapeake Bay. His division also regulated the Hart-Miller Island Confined Disposal Facility, CSX-COX Creek CDF, G-West/East/North/South Open-Water Disposal sites, etc. in Maryland.

For the past 23 years, Visty has been working in the Maryland Dam Safety Program, regulating over a hundred High, Significant, and Low-Hazard dams. His responsibilities involve working with dam owners on educating, inspecting, repairing, maintaining their dams, and conducting ‘Emergency Action Plan’ (EAP) Table-Top/Functional Exercises. With decades of experience regulating dams in Maryland, he has been certified as an “Expert Witness” by Maryland’s Administrative Court on dam related projects litigated in Maryland. He is an active member of two national professional organizations – ‘Association of Environmental and Engineering Geologists’ (AEG) and ‘Association of State Dam Safety Officials’ (ASDSO) where he has been presented the ‘Presidential Citation’ & ‘Outstanding Volunteer’ awards. He has published several papers for both organizations as well as presented at their annual conferences.

Visty holds two master's degrees - in engineering geology and marine geology and has a  doctorate in ‘Higher Education Leadership’ specializing in STEM education. He has been affiliated with several universities and community colleges for the last 25 years as an adjunct STEM faculty. He can be reached at visty.dalal@maryland.gov and (443) 271-8122 ©.