Field observations of the lower Patapsco River in the aftermath of the Bloede Dam removal

Abstract

This field trip will provide an overview of the lower Patapsco River gorge and the site of the recently‐breached Bloede Dam, which at the time of the breach stored about 300,000 cubic yards of sediment; those on the trip will have the opportunity to observe conditions in the former dam pool and the early stages of redistribution of stored sediment down the channel. We will include a brief stop in Ellicott City, a short distance upstream of Bloede Dam and site of two catastrophic floods in 2016 and 2018, both of which were major sediment‐transport events on the Patapsco River. The trip will conclude with a visit to the lower floodplain several miles downstream of the dam, where significant accumulation of sediment has been observed from the Ellicott City 2016 and 2018 floods as well as the 2011 Tropical Storm Lee flood.