patching...
Welcome back, Patch Blogger!

State Seeks Input on Potential Removal of Bloede Dam

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources will hold two meetings at the Catonsville Library this week for public input.

 

The 105-year-old Bloede Dam in Patapsco Valley State Park may be removed, in an effort to improve safety and improve fish passage through the Patapsco River.

It's an option that the Department of Natural Resources is considering and would like public input on. The dam, which was built in 1907, is the largest of the dams along the river at 30 feet high and 160 feet long.

State officials have been removing dams upstream since 2010, according to a study on the dam.

While fish ladders were added in the 1990s to help fish navigate the dam, studies have shown that very few fish travel up the dam, according to a state report.

Also, several people have died on the dam over the years, making it a public safety hazard, officials say.

Have you taken a plunge down the Bloede Dam? Do you want to see it go? Tell us about it in the comments.

A recent study looked options for the dam, which also included not removing the it, but restoring it. Removal of the dam could cost roughly $2.3 million, according to the state report.

To read more about the dam, visit the DNR website.

The department is also taking comments on the analysis of the dam at two open house meetings scheduled this month at the Catonsville Library on Thursday from 2 to 8 p.m. and Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

To submit written comment to the state, email bloededam@dnr.state.md.us.

Related Topics: Bloede Dam and patapsco valley state park

Mike

7:09 pm on Wednesday, June 27, 2012

It is a shame that the fish ladder was a waste of time and money. But the DNR approved it. So I think the state should postpone the project until the economy improves and about public safety. Warning Signs are posted in both English and Spanish.

Reply

K Younkin

9:57 am on Monday, July 2, 2012

Whatever we can do to help the Patapsco River should be the most important thing. The historical significance of the dam can be memorialized in a diffenent way, and this would have to be worked out. I vote to remove the dam.

Reply

Leave a comment