This is a list of dams in Maryland that have been removed as physical impediments to free-flowing rivers or streams.
This is a list of dams in Maryland that have been removed as physical impediments to free-flowing rivers or streams.
| Dam [1] | Height | Year removed | Location | Watercourse | Watershed | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Centreville Dam | 5 ft (1.5 m) | 2015 | Centreville 39°02′53″N76°03′43″W / 39.048°N 76.062°W | Gravel Run | Corsica River | Mill dam owned by the Town of Centreville. [2] |
| White Hall Dam | 2011 | White Hall 39°37′14″N76°37′47″W / 39.6206°N 76.6297°W | Little Falls | Gunpowder River | [3] | |
| Martin Farm Pond Dam (Overshot Branch Dam) | 25 ft (7.6 m) | 2019 | Harford County 39°31′26″N76°26′39″W / 39.5239°N 76.4441°W | Overshot Branch | [4] | |
| Clifford Branch Dam | 6 ft (1.8 m) | 2012 | Frederick 39°29′15″N77°28′16″W / 39.4874°N 77.4712°W | Clifford Branch | Monocacy River | Water supply dam for the City of Frederick. |
| Puckum Dam | 8 ft (2.4 m) | 2007 | Dorchester County 38°36′32″N75°48′55″W / 38.6090°N 75.8154°W | Puckum Branch | Nanticoke River | The dam and culvert had supported a logging road but were washed out in June 2006. Total removal in January 2007 supported the passage of alewife, blueback herring, and perch. [5] |
| Bloede Dam | 34 ft (10 m) | 2018 | Elkridge 39°14′49″N76°45′40″W / 39.247°N 76.7612°W | Patapsco River | Patapsco River | Hydropower dam owned by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. [6] |
| Simkins Dam | 10 ft (3.0 m) | 2010 | Baltimore County 39°15′10″N76°46′06″W / 39.2527°N 76.7683°W | Textile mill dam owned by Simkins Industries. [7] | ||
| Union Dam | 24 ft (7.3 m) | 2010 | Baltimore County 39°17′41″N76°46′48″W / 39.2946°N 76.78°W | Textile mill dam owned by the State. [8] | ||
| Pittsburgh Plate & Glass (PPG) Dam | 10 ft (3.0 m) | 2007 | Cumberland 39°34′49″N78°44′40″W / 39.5802°N 78.7444°W | North Branch Potomac River | Potomac River | Originally built to back up water for a pumping station. Owned by Pittsburgh Plate & Glass. [9] |
| Raven Rock Dam | 6.5 ft (2.0 m) | 2007 | Washington County 39°39′54″N77°32′32″W / 39.6651°N 77.5422°W | Little Antietam Creek | Water supply dam for the City of Hagerstown. [10] | |
| Polly Pond Dam | 25 ft (7.6 m) | 2002 | Allegany County | Big Run | Located in the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park, the earthen dam was part of a canal waste weir. [11] | |
| Chevy Chase Lake Dam | 1937 | Chevy Chase 38°59′41″N77°04′23″W / 38.994815°N 77.073111°W | Coquelin Run | Dam built in 1892 to power streetcars and create a trolley park | ||
| Bishopville Dam | 4 ft (1.2 m) | 2014 | Worcester County 38°26′32″N75°11′40″W / 38.4423°N 75.1944°W | St. Martin River | St. Martin River | Mill dam owned by Worcester County. |
| Octoraro Dam | 2005 | Rising Sun 39°42′06″N76°07′36″W / 39.7017°N 76.1267°W | Octoraro Creek | Susquehanna River | [12] | |
| Town Creek Dam | 5 ft (1.5 m) | |||||
| Dam #3 Ruins | 6 ft (1.8 m) | 1991 | ||||
| Bacon Ridge Branch Weir | 1991 | Bacon Ridge Branch | ||||
| Deep Run Dam | 1989 | Deep Run | ||||
| Railroad Trestle Dam | 1994 | Dorsey Run | ||||
| Horsepen Branch Dam | 1995 | Horsepen Branch | ||||
| Railroad Bridge at Elkton Dam | 1992 | Little Elk Creek | ||||
| Stony Run Dam | 1990 | Stony Run | ||||
| Route 214 Dam | 1998 | Western Branch |
The Cuyahoga River is a river located in Northeast Ohio that bisects the City of Cleveland and feeds into Lake Erie.
The Klamath River flows 257 miles (414 km) through Oregon and northern California in the United States, emptying into the Pacific Ocean. By average discharge, the Klamath is the second largest river in California after the Sacramento River. Its nearly 16,000-square-mile (41,000 km2) watershed stretches from the high desert of south-central Oregon to the temperate rainforest of the North Coast. Unlike most rivers, the Klamath begins in a desert region and flows through the rugged Cascade Range and Klamath Mountains before reaching the ocean; National Geographic magazine has called the Klamath "a river upside down".
The River Loxley is a river in the City of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Its source is a series of streams which rise some 10 miles (16 km) to the north-west of Sheffield on Bradfield Moors, flowing through Bradfield Dale to converge at Low Bradfield. It flows easterly through Damflask Reservoir and is joined by Storrs Brook at Storrs, near Stannington, and the River Rivelin at Malin Bridge, before flowing into the River Don at Owlerton, in Hillsborough. The Loxley valley provided the initial course of the Great Sheffield Flood, which happened after the Dale Dyke Dam collapsed shortly before its completion in March 1864.
The Patapsco River mainstem is a 39-mile (63 km) river in central Maryland that flows into the Chesapeake Bay. The river's tidal portion forms the harbor for the city of Baltimore. With its South Branch, the Patapsco forms the northern border of Howard County, Maryland. The name "Patapsco" is derived from the Algonquian pota-psk-ut, which translates to "backwater" or "tide covered with froth".
The Bull Run Hydroelectric Project was a Portland General Electric (PGE) development in the Sandy River basin in the U.S. state of Oregon. Originally built between 1908 and 1912 near the town of Bull Run, it supplied hydroelectric power for the Portland area for nearly a century, until it was removed in 2007 and 2008. The project used a system of canals, tunnels, wood box flumes and diversion dams to feed a remote storage reservoir and powerhouse. The entire project was removed because of rising environmental costs. Marmot Dam on the Sandy River was demolished in 2007, and the Little Sandy Dam on the Little Sandy River was taken down in 2008.
Alameda Creek is a large perennial stream in the San Francisco Bay Area. The creek runs for 45 miles (72 km) from a lake northeast of Packard Ridge to the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay by way of Niles Canyon and a flood control channel. Along its course, Alameda Creek provides wildlife habitat, water supply, a conduit for flood waters, opportunities for recreation, and a host of aesthetic and environmental values. The creek and three major reservoirs in the watershed are used as water supply by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, Alameda County Water District and Zone 7 Water Agency. Within the watershed can be found some of the highest peaks and tallest waterfall in the East Bay, over a dozen regional parks, and notable natural landmarks such as the cascades at Little Yosemite and the wildflower-strewn grasslands and oak savannahs of the Sunol Regional Wilderness. After an absence of half a century, ocean-run steelhead trout are able to return to Alameda Creek to mingle with remnant rainbow trout populations. Completion of a series of dam removal and fish passage projects, along with improved stream flows for cold-water fish and planned habitat restoration, enable steelhead trout and Chinook salmon to access up to 20 miles (32 km) of spawning and rearing habitat in Alameda Creek and its tributaries. The first juvenile trout migrating downstream from the upper watershed through lower Alameda Creek toward San Francisco Bay was detected and documented in April 2023.
Dam removal is the process of demolishing a dam, returning water flow to the river. Arguments for dam removal consider whether their negative effects outweigh their benefits. The benefits of dams include hydropower production, flood control, irrigation, and navigation. Negative effects of dams include environmental degradation, such as reduced primary productivity, loss of biodiversity, and declines in native species; some negative effects worsen as dams age, like structural weakness, reduced safety, sediment accumulation, and high maintenance expense. The rate of dam removals in the United States has increased over time, in part driven by dam age. As of 1996, 5,000 large dams around the world were more than 50 years old. In 2020, 85% percent of dams in the United States are more than 50 years old. In the United States roughly 900 dams were removed between 1990 and 2015, and by 2015, the rate was 50 to 60 per year. France and Canada have also completed significant removal projects. Japan's first removal, of the Arase Dam on the Kuma River, began in 2012 and was completed in 2017. A number of major dam removal projects have been motivated by environmental goals, particularly restoration of river habitat, native fish, and unique geomorphological features. For example, fish restoration motivated the Elwha Ecosystem Restoration and the dam removal on the river Allier, while recovery of both native fish and of travertine deposition motivated the restoration of Fossil Creek.
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