The Maryland Environmental Service (MES) & Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) are set to begin a Pilot Dredging Project at Conowingo Dam.
In a recent announcement by MES, both MES and MDE are set to begin a Pilot Dredging Project at the Conowingo Dam. This pilot project is an important step toward understanding the role that dredging can play in mitigating the effects of upstream discharges and the lost trapping capacity of the Conowingo Dam.
According to the press release:
“The initiation of dredging at the Conowingo Dam is an exciting move forward for the Conowingo Dredging and Innovative and Beneficial Reuse Pilot Project,” said Dr. Charles Glass, Executive Director of MES. “The removal and dewatering, and subsequent testing of the dredged material allows us to explore new options for long term solutions for improving the overall health of the Chesapeake Bay and will provide greater insight into beneficial reuse of dredge materials. . . .”
“Maryland is taking a holistic and aggressive approach to restoring the Chesapeake Bay, working with states, the federal government, and many others to reduce pollution upstream and behind the Conowingo Dam so we can clean the water, increase climate resiliency, and put sediment to productive use,” said Maryland Environment Secretary Ben Grumbles.
The contractor will dredge approximately 1,000 cubic yards of sediment, equivalent to 100 dump truckloads, from the Conowingo Reservoir, providing dredged material for various innovative reuse testing programs, including concrete and asphalt manufacturing, cement clinker, soil blending for sport horticulture, engineered highway soil, and/or supplemental cementitious materials.
