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By Kenneth C. Rossignol
ST. MARY’S TODAY

GREAT MILLS (Aug. 25, 2008) --- The Maryland Board of Public Works at their meeting last week has approved an emergency expenditure of nearly a half million bucks to attempt to solve a “seeping” problem at the dam on the St. Mary’s River, which if it blows could wipe out dozens of low income residents of mobile homes and structures located downstream.

Sen. Roy Dyson told ST. MARY’S TODAY that he is extremely concerned about the safety of those who live along the upper reaches of St. Mary’s River, primarily in the Great Mills area, which would be endangered should the dam stop seeping and simply burst.

“I have asked the state what they are doing to warn residents about a possible catastrophe and if they are taking steps to be sure that no one is harmed,” said Dyson.

St. Mary’s Commissioner Larry Jarboe (R. Golden Beach) said that the county commissioners have not been informed by either county staff or state officials of any problem at the dam.
“I would hope that if the state believes the problem is serious enough to spend nearly a half million dollars to fix it, that some emergency management coordination with the county would take place and alert local officials that there could be a serious problem,” said Jarboe.

A staffer for Congressman Steny Hoyer said that she would check to learn if they had been notified of the possible failure of the dam.
Commissioner Dan Raley (D. Great Mills) could not be reached for comment. Del. John Bohanan (D. Lexington Park) was not in his office when contacted for comment.

The water level at the state park was lowered significantly several years ago to allow for work on the dam and the water level was restored after repairs were made.

The new seepage at the dam has Senator Dyson concerned about not only the residents who live downstream but what a major flood of water would do to Rt. 5, the important traffic artery that serves the Patuxent River Naval Air Station.

A wash out of the roadway would be a serious disruption to the operations of the base and of St. Inigoes, both of which would be impacted by even a temporary loss of the roadway.

Great Mills routinely floods even without a dam burst as the dam has never really controlled flooding in the area. Flooding has taken place during recent hurricanes and tropical storms, closing Rt. 5 for up to 24 hours.

A sudden rush of water down the river could imperil lives, wipe out homes and put the highway out of order for at least a week, causing the 25,000 cars and trucks a day that use the road to be redirected to the already congested Rt. 235 corridor.
Evidently the State of Maryland believed that there was enough of a danger to spend more than a half million dollars to purchase and demolish the old two-story apartment house on Rt. 5 at Great Mills.

In addition to spending Maryland Emergency Management funds on buying the Mansfield structure, built originally during WWII to accommodate the buildup at the base, the state paid funds to the county for the relocation of residents of the building, with some getting up to $35,000 to buy trailers and locate at nearby mobile home parks. Some of those who were relocated to the White Oak park on Rt. 235 were once again given relocation funds to move when that development was purchased for conversion to a shopping center.

The Langley trailer park located on Atkins Road is a community of about 30 trailers which is located next to the banks of the St. Mary’s River. The mobile home park regularly floods and discussions among officials to buy and relocate the park have evaporated in the past with no action being taken, as in the case of the Great Mills Apartments.

During the regular flooding during storms, the combination of a full moon, high tides, winds from the south and heavy rains has proven to be all it takes to flood all of Great Mills including Langley trailer park. A gushing river flow caused by a dam break would catastrophic for residents if it occurred in the middle of the night without warning.
The flooding of Great Mills generally closes the highway for up to 24 hours as the tides cycle through, and also closes Flat Iron Road while water swirls around a half dozen businesses and homes.

The new Sheetz was allowed to build in the flood zone but while it may escape routine flooding, the facility could be partially underwater if the dam breaks.

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