Patapsco River Restoration Project Research
American Rivers has been working on restoring the Patapsco River through dam removal for more than a decade. Three dams have been removed so far: Union Dam (2009), Simkins Dam (2010), and Bloede Dam (2018). A significant investment has been made by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to support monitoring and historical documentation efforts on the Patapsco.
The historical documentation for this project was completed by the National Park Service’s Heritage Documentation Programs. The biological monitoring (fish and critters) was completed by the Maryland Biological Stream Survey and Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. The physical monitoring (sediment and water) was completed by Maryland Geological Survey, U.S. Geological Survey, and University of Maryland Baltimore County.
Products, publications, and links to data repositories and presentations associated with this project can be found below.
Historical Documentation
Library of Congress: Bloede Dam, Spanning Patapsco River, Avalon, Baltimore County, MD
Bloede Dam Fly-Through Animation
Data Repositories
Maryland Biological Stream Survey, Maryland Department of Natural Resources
Coming soon
Maryland Geological Survey
Report coming soon
Repeat photography station data: https://www.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/9224cea2f2a344e4ac5fbc9b40c32957
Smithsonian Environmental Research Center
Early detection and recovery of river herring spawning habitat use in response to a mainstem dam removal (2023)
River Herring Data and Metadata for the Patapsco River (2024)
University of Maryland Baltimore County
Coming soon
U.S. Geological Survey
Gage Data: Patapsco River Near Catonsville, MD – 01589025
Gage Data: Patapsco River Near Elkridge, MD – 01589035
Gage Data: Patapsco River at Hollofield, MD – 01589000
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Valley/stream bottom elevations and sediment thickness/grain size measurements for the lower Patapsco River, Maryland, proximal to Bloede Dam from 1986-11-13 to 2021-08-17 (NCEI Accession 0284223) (2023) https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/0284223
Publications
Baker, M., A. Miller, A. Rittle, and Z. Clifton. 2017. Physical Monitoring of the Lower Patapsco River: Phase I Final Report to American Rivers. University of Maryland Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD.
https://americanrivers.box.com/s/6kyeug6xbz034j51ltbrddvptpjum0at
Baker, M., R. Wooldridge, and A. Miller. 2021. Physical Monitoring of the Lower Patapsco: Phase II Final Report. University of Maryland Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD.
https://americanrivers.box.com/s/yobad4ffwjshqdn9sv7wfp2za04gvf0h
Cashman, M., A. Gellis, E. Boyd, M. Collins, S. Anderson, B. McFarland, and A. Ryan. 2021. Channel response to a dam-removal sediment pulse captured at high-temporal resolution using routine gage data. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 46(6): 1145-1159. https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.5083
Collins, M., M. Baker, M. Cashman, A. Miller, and S. Van Ryswick. 2024. Impounded sediment and dam removal: Erosion rates and proximal downstream fate. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms: 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.5850
Cui, Y., M. Collins, M. Andrews, G. Boardman, J. Wooster, M. Melchoir, and S. McClain. 2018. Comparing 1-D sediment transport modeling with field observations: Simkins Dam removal case study. International Journal of River Basin Management 17(2): 185-197. https://doi.org/10.1080/15715124.2018.1508024
Huang, C., H. Legett, L. Plough, R. Aguilar, C. Fitzgerald, B. Gregory, K. Heggie, B. Lee, K. Richie, W. Harbold, and M. Ogburn. 2023. Early detection and recovery of river herring spawning habitat use in response to a mainstem dam removal. PLoS ONE 18(5): e0284561. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0284561
Ogburn, M. 2024. Patapsco River Dam Removal Monitoring. Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Edgewater, MD.
https://americanrivers.box.com/s/z64mlzxrf2kyc6hczbmr5drzoqidf17l
Van Ryswick, S.M., A. Gillmor, B. Nicholson, B. Sylvia, C. Connallon, J. Allman, and A. Reisinger. 2024. Comprehensive Physical Monitoring and Sediment Mapping Surveys of the Patapsco River Near Bloede Dam, Howard and Baltimore Counties, Maryland. Coastal and Environmental Geology File Report No. 23-04; MD DNR Publication No. DNR 12-082123-365.
https://americanrivers.box.com/s/0icp4dinc6932a1vg1sdjjuwjbszflxr
Presentations
Patapsco River Restoration: A Multi-Dam Removal Case Study (World Fisheries Congress, March 2024)
Restoring the Patapsco River: Bloede Dam Removal (Patapsco Heritage Greenway’s Patapsco Days, March 2024)
Other Information
For more information about the Bloede Dam removal project, go here. For more information about the Patapsco River, go here. If you have any questions, please reach out to Jessie Thomas-Blate, Project Manager, at info@americanrivers.org.
Financial support for these research efforts was provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.