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AEG EVENT 5/30/24: Construction of Conowingo Dam

When
30 May 2024
6:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Location
60 Cottontail Lane, Somerset, NJ 08873

Registration

Payment
In-Person Registration Fees
$40 for AEG members / $50 non-members / $5 for students with RSVP /
Professors attend as our guests at no charge.

Remote Attendance Registration Fee - $15.00 (no CEC credits)
On-Line Registration Payment Link: https://square.link/u/IbrP9H6z?src=sheet

Guests are always welcome! Pay at the door by check, cash, or credit card.
Make check payable to AEG.

If you want to pay by card in advance, you can use the links below.
In-person Member Rate: https://square.link/u/TwKW4MKt?src=sheet
In-person non-Member Rate: https://square.link/u/yh5HcM7G?src=sheet
In-person Student Rate:https://square.link/u/ZWDeB0lQ?src=sheet

We are continuing to celebrate our return to in-person meetings,
bring a guest who is new to AEG, and they pay half-price!

Registration is closed

DINNER MEETING ANNOUNCEMENT

The History, Geology, and Construction of Conowingo Dam, Maryland

Thursday, May 30, 2024
At the Clarion Hotel in Somerset, New Jersey

Dr. Visty P. Dalal
Senior Engineering Geologist, Maryland Department of the Environment

Time:	Social Hour 6:00 pm – 6:45 pm / Dinner 6:45 pm – 7:45 pm Presentation begins at 8:00 pm
Place:	Clarion Hotel / 60 Cottontail Lane, Somerset, NJ 08873 / (732) 560-9880
RSVP:	End of Business, Tuesday, May 28, 2024. A timely RSVP is appreciated! Please note, you can register more than one individual at a time! Don't forget to add the event to your calendar from our website!
Cost:	In-Person Registration Fees $40 for AEG members / $50 non-members / $5 for students with RSVP / Professors attend as our guests at no charge. Remote Attendance Registration Fee - $15.00 (no CEC credits) On-Line Registration Payment Link: https://square.link/u/IbrP9H6z?src=sheet Guests are always welcome! Pay at the door by check, cash, or credit card. Make check payable to AEG. If you want to pay by card in advance, you can use the links below. In-person Member Rate: https://square.link/u/TwKW4MKt?src=sheet In-person non-Member Rate: https://square.link/u/yh5HcM7G?src=sheet In-person Student Rate:https://square.link/u/ZWDeB0lQ?src=sheet We are continuing to celebrate our return to in-person meetings, bring a guest who is new to AEG, and they pay half-price!
CECs:	One professional development hour (pdh) for continuing education credit (CEC) will be awarded for attending the presentation. SRPLB Approval for One hour of LSRP Technical CEC will be requested.

ABSTRACT
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.

BIOGRAPHY

Dr. Visty Dalal 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.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Final New York - Philadelphia Dinner Meeting

June 20, 2024: Tectonic Implications of the 2024 New Jersey Earthquakes

Wonder what’s causing the recent spate of Earthquakes in New Jersey? Hundreds of aftershocks have occurred since the initial 4.8 magnitude event on April 5th, 2024. Our resident tectonics expert, New Jersey geologist Dr Gregory Herman, will take a deep dive into the factors involved in their origin.

AEG Annual Meeting - September 2024

Preparations continue to develop the programming and other aspects for the 2024 AEG Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, headquartered at the Hilton Philadelphia at Penn's Landing. The planning committee will need volunteers to work on Field Trips; Technical Sessions and Symposia, Guest Tours, Special Event(s) among many other logistics. Local volunteers will be joined by other AEG Members from other Regions that have experience in planning successful meetings. Please email committee organizer Curt Schmidt at schmidtcas.aeg@gmail.com to get more information and indicate interest.

Field Trips in the works include:

The Edelman Fossil Pit in South Jersey,
The Conowingo Dam on the PA-MD border.
The Wissahickon Schist in a Philadelphia Park, and
Coastal Resiliency at the Jersey Shore.
Franklin Mineral Museum, Franklin, Sussex County NJ

Join or Renew Your AEG Membership!
Did you know AEG is working to support our profession through fighting off threats to professional licensure? This is just one of the many ways your association is advocating on your behalf. To continue this important work and offer valuable benefits, WE NEED YOUR HELP through renewal of your AEG membership. Also, AEG grows primarily through word of mouth and the excellent local and regional programs offered by AEG chapters. Please invite your coworkers and professional colleagues to a chapter event and encourage them to join you as an AEG member. Log in at www.aegweb.org to renew or join!

AEG News

The Winter Edition of the AEG News is now available online. A report from the New York-Philadelphia Chapter is on the Homefront Section, along with photos from our Cushetunk Mountain Field Trip.

For the first time ever, a photo we submitted is on the cover!

AEG Executive Council Secretary Call for Nominations

Nominations for Secretary are being taken by the AEG Executive Council. The Secretary role on the Executive Council completes a progressive five-year leadership journey, advance through key positions by serving one year in each role: Secretary, Treasurer, Vice President-President Elect, President, and finally, Immediate Past President. Interested candidates are encouraged to review the AEG Bylaws (Article VIII), accessible on the Member Resources page of the AEG website, for a detailed description of Executive Officer duties and responsibilities.

2023-2024 New York-Philadelphia Board:
Chair: Loren Lasky, NJDEP, Hill Environmental, retired
Vice Chair: Jim Peterson, Princeton Geoscience
Past Chair & Regulatory Liaison: Rose DeLorenzo, LSRP Consulting
Treasurer: Ted Toskos, Jacobs
Co-Secretaries: Tim Hull, Princeton Geoscience and Tom Cumello, Dewberry
Webmaster: Jennifer Cherlin, Galli Engineering
Student Outreach Chair: Professor Alec Gates, Rutgers University-Newark

STUDENTS
Remember: Students join for FREE. AEG offers many opportunities for students, including: online resources, publications, annual meetings, section meetings, seminars, networking, scholarship and career resources. Participating in meetings enables students to interact with practicing professionals and is a great way for students to learn more about applied geology. Visit “Join/Renew” at www.aegweb.org and fill out the Complimentary Student Membership application.

UPCOMING EVENTS AND CLASSES

New Jersey Licensed Site Remediation Professionals Association
CE Courses (lsrpa.org)

Rutgers Museum
Museum Events (rutgers.edu)

ITRC
Training - ITRC (itrcweb.org)

Rutgers
Course Calendar – Rutgers NJAES Office of Continuing Professional Education

CPES
Professional Education Courses – Toms River, NJ – CPES (cpesnj.com)

New York State Council of Professional Geologists
NYSCPG - Continuing Education Opportunities (wildapricot.org)

Pennsylvania Council of Professional Geologists
PCPG - PCPG Courses & Events

AEG NY-P's May Meeting is sponsored by:

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ABSTRACT

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.

BIOGRAPHY

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AEG EVENT 5/30/24: Construction of Conowingo Dam

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