Shit Don't Flow Uphill

An old adage I learned from a plumber early as an undergraduate: Susquehanna riverkeeper cites 'really horrible' field of debris flowing downstream near Conowingo Dam

This winter’s ever-changing weather sent “massive amounts” of trees, limbs and trash downstream, creating a large debris field along the Lower Susquehanna River near Conowingo Dam, an advocate for the river said.

Ted Evgeniadis, the Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper, said a confluence of events caused the debris to wash toward the Chesapeake Bay.

During the cold snap in January, the river froze. Then the weather warmed, melting ice on the river as well as snow on land nearby. Combined with a few days of rain, that sent a torrent of water downstream, he said.

The cycle is not uncommon, but “this year was really horrible,” Evgeniadis said. “Some people probably haven’t seen it this bad in a while.”

Images of the debris field circulated on social media in recent days, and one post on Twitter prompted a response from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, which posted on its own Twitter feed that Exelon, the company that operates Conowingo Dam, “is responsible for removing floating as well as submerged debris around [the dam].”

Deena O’Brien, an Exelon spokeswoman, said the company does have a debris removal program — and typically removes about 700 tons of debris near Conowingo each year. But she said Susquehanna River levels have been too high recently for the company to safely remove debris from the river before it reaches the dam.

“It would be extremely dangerous to have a skimmer boat operating in fast-moving and highly turbulent waters,” O’Brien said in a statement.

 Coming to a beach near me some day soon.

Facebook photo from Conowingo Dan by "Susky Dave"