Pawlowski Unleashes Bulldozer On Dam

Allentown Press Release PAWLOWSKI TELLS WILDLANDS TO PROCEED Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski is telling Wildlands Conservancy that it can proceed with plans to remove the Robin Hood dam and the dam at the Trout Hatchery on the Little Lehigh Creek. “I want to thank City Councilwoman Cynthia Mota and City Council’s Parks and Recreation Committee for conducting a fact-finding hearing on the issue,” Pawlowski said. “The feedback that I received from members of City Council indicated overwhelming support of the plan to remove the dams. I want to thank the members of the city’s Environmental Advisory Council for taking a leadership role in the discussion. I appreciate the opinions of all those who weighed-in as part of the process.” The process of removing dams in Pennsylvania to improve water quality and eliminate safety hazards is not new. There are an estimated 7,000 dams in the Commonwealth, and the PA Fish and Boat Commission, along with many conservation organizations and other state agencies have been funding their removal for decades. While a nostalgic throwback to an earlier era, the construction of most dams was for mills, the ice industry, and the development of the canal industry, mostly in the early 1800s through the 1940s. However, the impoundment of water in streams has been found to have profound, negative environmental effects. These effects include warming of the stream, the buildup of sediment behind the dam structure, reduced Oxygen, lower biodiversity, and prohibited fish passage. The latter prevents fish migration to take advantage of optimum stream temperatures and current, feeding and spawning grounds. There are also ongoing studies to suggest genetic isolation and weakening of species’ strains. The Robin Hood Bridge Dam was built for a U.S.G.S. gauging station; the Fish Hatchery Dam was built for a water supply to the Trout Nursery; however, that water supply ceased when the Trout Nursery utilized a spring on site which provides 45-degree water, free of storm-event siltation and summer warming.

Although I find the above press release disappointing, it is no surprise. The sentence about most dams were for mills is straight from the new park director. Unfortunately, for Allentown's magnificent park system, we have people making decisions who have no real feel for the parks or their history. They will continue to be used for agendas for which they were not intended. Each of these uses diminishes the public's right to enjoyment and access.

Pawlowski's Dam Decision

Mayor Ed Pawlowski is supposed to decide on the fate of the Robin Hood Dam in Lehigh Parkway today, but he's making his decision on incomplete information. The Wildlands Conservancy claims that the dam was built for the USGS creek monitoring tower in 1945, however, there is no documentation to support that statement. On the contrary, there are indications that the dam was probably built in 1941, at the same time as the bridge. The Corp of Engineers established two creek station, the other at S. 10th St. in Fountain Park. That location has no dam, so apparently dams are not necessary to monitor the water. However, it was necessary in 1941 to build temporary dams, called cofferdams, in order to build the Robin Hood Bridge piers. Common sense would indicate that the dam was built at the same time those cofferdams were in place. Why would have the Corp of Engineers built a dam so close to the bridge four years later? This past May, City Engineer Richard Young told Council that the Wildlands had not submitted bridge pier scour studies, nor had any been approved. On Wednesday night, the Wildlands indicated that all approvals were in place. Did they have scour studies done in the meantime, or not, or is Richard Young accepting their statement that the dam was built after the bridge? Wildlands must complete their project before October in order to be in compliance with State regulations. They are exerting pressure on the Administration. If the bridge and dam were built at the same time, the bridge piers were not designed for a deeper channel, which will occur when the dam is removed. Demolishing a significant feature of Lehigh Parkway should not be done lightly, to accommodate an outside organization's timetable.

Deceiving City Council

One of the major themes in the presentation by the Wildlands Conservancy was that the dam at Robin Hood is unsafe for the public. They showed the sign declaring danger and no swimming in their power point presentation three times. This warning was repeated by the park director, John Mikowychok, and reported in Thursday's Morning Call article. There was no danger sign for the last 72 years. There was no danger sign this spring when I conducted the WPA tour. There wasn't even a danger sign two weeks ago when I showed City Council the dam. The sign was just made and installed last week by Mikowychok to provide the Conservancy the photo opportunity and rationale to use in their presentation.  How ironic for a city to post a danger sign two weeks before they want to demolish a 72 year old dam. If I were Council, I would find such a contrivance disrespectful.

A Night Of Propaganda

The Morning Call reporter described last night's meeting on the dam as contentious. The odds were about as I expected, about 50 for the dam, vs. me. Although I was only suppose to speak once for three minutes, (I did insist on another 30 seconds) two people stood up and were specifically offended by what I had said. The meeting started off with a slick power point presentation by the Wildlands Conservancy. In it they harped on how dangerous dams are, and how much liability it's presence carries for Allentown. City Council will be protecting Allentown by endorsing it's removal. They kept illustrating the dangerous Jordan dam, and what a good job they did for the city by removing it last month. Gone from the equation was truth; The Jordan Dam was built above water level with dangerous pipes through it. The Robin Hood Dam is a below water surface scenic dam, which children have been wading near for 70 years. During my few minutes I mentioned the propaganda 101 technique that Wildlands employed. A gentleman stood up and was offended that I would use the word propaganda in regard to such a wonderful organization. The Wildlands had solicited every science professor in the valley to line up and parrot that dams are bad. Gone from the equation was the beauty and magic of the dam and bridge together. Even our own new park director sat with the Conservancy and echoed their program. He referred to removing the dam as a safety issue. The decision to save the dam now rests with the mayor. I hope he stands on the bridge in the next few days, and experiences what has delighted Allentonians for 70 years.

The Express-Times coverage of the meeting

WFMZ69 coverage of the meeting

Defending The Park

This evening at 6:00 p.m., City Council's Park and Recreation Committee will hold a discussion on the dams in Lehigh Parkway. I will be there to defend the dam at the Robin Hood Bridge. Wildlands Conservancy and assorted environmental types will be there to promote their agendas. The magnificent park has been vandalized by special interests for several decades. Three WPA structures have been buried rather than maintained. Christmas lights have been strung to monetize the park during the holiday season. The steel bridge was allowed to rust away, ending 70 years of a beautiful ride through the park. Because of the park's abundantly designed beauty, it still manages to bestow tranquility onto it's visitors, but it deserves more respect than now being a workshop for assorted special interests.

photocredit:molovinsky

A Place Of Beauty

The above photograph is right up there with my better park pictures, but of course I had a little help from the WPA. The Wildlands Conservancy and I disagree over the date of the dam. I place it with the bridge in 1941, they think it was built by the Corp of Engineers in 1945, as part of the water level monitoring station. In a communication between ecological types, they say that it's essential that it be removed. They talk about obsolete dams and macro-invertebrates. Whether the dam is 72 years old, or only 68 years old, it's hard to imagine that it's now essential that it be removed. It's not that I'm insensitive toward macro-invertebrates, but Harry Trexler had the park designed for people.

photocredit:molovinsky