Position Statement on the Proposed Inflatable Dam
Updated January 8, 1996
The Officers and Directors of the Greater Wyoming Valley Audubon Society oppose the plan to construct or install an inflatable dam or any other such flow-altering device in or on the Susquehanna River. We believe that the River, its islands, and its adjacent natural areas provide wildlife with valuable habitat that would be adversely impacted by the inflatable dam. Furthermore, we believe that the free-flowing, unimpeded River and its associated terrestrial areas offer valuable recreational and educational opportunities that would be lost if the inflatable dam is constructed.
Since the Susquehanna River serves as a natural migration route, and since its riparian areas serve as breeding and/or resting areas for many bird species, some of which have experienced population declines due to loss of habitat in recent years, we are concerned about the possible negative consequences for the riparian forest. A 1994 study by Wilkes University Limnology students suggests that the level of the water table in the vicinity of the Susquehanna River is directly influenced by the level of the River. Thus, as the River level rises, the water table responds with a corresponding rise. This finding has led to a concern that if the River is impounded behind a dam, surface flooding of low-lying regions of the Kirby Park Natural Area and adjacent forested areas in Edwardsville will occur, and the rising water table will inundate root systems below the ground's surface. Such surface and sub-surface inundation has the potential to destroy the riparian forest, which would result in the loss of habitat for migrating and nesting birds and other wildlife (such as fox squirrels, which may be endangered, and which are at least uncommon in Eastern Pennsylvania), and in the loss of the Kirby Park Natural Area's potential to serve as an outdoor classroom for the study of ecology.
Along with the possibility that the inflatable dam would destroy habitat for avian and terrestrial wildlife, the 1994 Wilkes University study also raises concerns that the Susquehanna River's fishery might be degraded by the presence of an inflatable dam. Low flow conditions in the impoundment that would be created by the dam could result in siltation, which, combined with eutrophication (the process of nutrient enrichment and oxygen depletion), would encourage the presence of undesirable fish species at the expense of more desirable game species.
In addition to the potentially negative consequences for wildlife, we are also concerned that the dam's proponents are encouraging acceptance of the project on the basis that it will provide new water-related recreational opportunities for the residents of the Wyoming Valley. The 1994 Wilkes University study reportes that fecal coliform levels in the Susquehanna River greatly exceed acceptable standards for swimming as defined by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. (Fecal coliform levels in River water in Wilkes-Barre measured 600 counts per 100 milliliters; the DEP standard is 200 counts per 100 mL.) Moreover, a Federal Superfund site (the Butler Mine Tunnel, from which toxic and/or carcinogenic substances have discharged) is located some eight miles upstream of the proposed dam site, and thirty or more combined sewer outfalls, from which raw sewage flows into the River during high flow episodes such as thunderstorms, line the River immediately to the north. The potential presence of harmful bacteria, toxic chemicals, and raw sewage lead us to question the wisdom of encouraging recreation in an artificial lake that might concentrate these harmful substances.
Since the scientific evidence to date suggests that an inflatable dam could have negative consequences for the residents of the Wyoming Valley, and for the Valley's resident and migratory wildlife, the Officers and Directors of the Greater Wyoming Valley Audubon Society must remain officially opposed to the plan to construct an inflatable dam in the Susquehanna River in Wilkes-Barre.
Addendum to Position Statement on the Proposed Inflatable Dam
November 8, 1999
This addendum to the Greater Wyoming Valley Audubon Society's official position on the Proposal to install an inflatable dam in the Susquehanna River, a position that was originally adopted on August 8, 1994, and was updated on January 8, 1996, is in response to a proposal to install a second inflatable dam in the Susquehanna River near Nanticoke, PA. This addendum is intended to reflect new information concerning the possible effects of an inflatable dam on the Susquehanna River corridor's wildlife and riparian areas, as well as information concerning the water quality of the Susquehanna River.
The value of the Susquehanna River corridor's avian diversity, as documented by North American Migration Count data, by data from the GWVAS Monthly bird walks in the Kirby Park Natural Area, and from data gathered in the process of monitoring the peregrine falcons that have nested on the Cross Valley Expressway bridge, has been outlined in the GWVAS "Comments on the Proposal to Install an Inflatable Dam in the Susquehanna River in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania." We believe that these comments and the data that support them, along with other data concerning the River corridor's avian, mammalian, and herpetological diversity, lend overwhelming support to the GWVAS position of opposition to the inflatable dam proposed for the Susquehanna River in Wilkes-Barre. In addition, water quality information gathered over the course of an entire year indicates that the microbiological quality of the Susquehanna River is inadequate to permit water-oriented recreation as proposed by the dam's proponents.
Recently, a second inflatable dam has been proposed for the Susquehanna River near Nanticoke. The Officers and Directors of the GWVAS oppose this plan for the following reasons:
1) the environmental impacts of the Nanticoke dam would likely be similar to those of the dam proposed for Wilkes-Barre;
2) proponents of the Nanticoke dam have indicated that Richard's Island, which is located near the Carey Avenue Bridge spanning the Susquehanna River between Hanover Township and Plymouth, could be cleared of vegetation, thereby diminishing or destroying the Island's value as wildlife habitat;
3) proponents of the Nanticoke dam have suggested that wetlands in the River corridor would be adversely altered;
4) the microbiological quality of the Susquehanna River could pose a hazard to those engaged in water-oriented recreation;
5) evidence suggests that the River's pool remains adequate to permit fishing boats and canoes to navigate the River even during periods of extremely low flow.
The Officers and Directors of the Greater Wyoming Valley Audubon Society remain officially opposed to the installation of an inflatable dam in the Susquehanna River in Wilkes-Barre. In addition, we oppose the plan to install a second dam in the Susquehanna River near Nanticoke.