"Deflating the Myths about the Inflatable Dam" **
By Congressman Paul E. Kanjorski

          Our community has a unique opportunity to shape the future of the Wyoming Valley through the construction of an inflatable dam on the Susquehanna River.  The dam would provide a strong incentive to invest in cleaning up the river, encourage economic growth throughout the region, and enhance the viability of planned riverfront improvements. 

            Standing about nine feet high, the inflated structure would create a 450-acre recreational lake within the river's natural banks extending 4.5 miles upstream from the dam site at Richards Island to Forty Fort.  The lake would allow for boating, fishing, picnicking, hiking, sightseeing, and nature studies during the summer.   The dam poses no risk of flooding because it can be deflated in about 20 minutes to allow the river to flow freely in cases of heavy rainfall. 

Promoting Economic Growth

Gannett-Fleming's award-winning feasibility study indicates the project would attract up to 400,000 visitors each year, bringing about $70 million in economic activity.  The state and local governments would recover more than their original stake in the construction cost through the economic benefits that this project will bring to the Wyoming Valley.  

Improving Water Quality

Water quality along the Susquehanna remains an issue that our community must address. That is why I have worked with my colleagues in Congress to obtain $5.1 million in federal funds to eliminate combined sewer overflows, which are pipes that discharge wastewater into the river during heavy rainfalls.  When combined with the required local match, these funds will pay for about one-third of the CSO sites in the vicinity of the project.  We are therefore already well on our way to correcting one of the most problematic environmental problems along the river. 

If I had my druthers, I would invest the full amount of funding necessary to return the river to its once-pristine beauty. However, federal funding does not always flow in the ideal direction. The money I have obtained for the inflatable dam's construction cannot be used to clean up the river.  If these federal funds are not used for the inflatable dam, they must be returned to the federal government; the Wyoming Valley would get neither a seasonal lake nor a clean river.

Complementing Riverfront Amenities

Since completion of major construction for the levee raising project, I have worked closely with the Luzerne County Commissioners and the Army Corps of Engineers to move forward with plans to enhance the riverfront in Wilkes-Barre.  Utilization of these amenities, which include a riverfront plaza, a performance amphitheater, and a boating pier, require a stable water level along the river during the summer months.  The inflatable dam will provide that stability by controlling water flow.  Anyone who has viewed the Susquehanna in July knows that water levels are often too low to permit recreational use of the river.  Without the stabilized water level created by the inflatable dam, our community may be left with water levels that are too low to allow for safe boating. 

Maintaining Aquatic and Terrestrial Wildlife

The project will not interfere with the annual shad migration because this process typically occurs in the months before the dam would be inflated. An environmental impact study found that the inflatable dam would pose no significant environmental danger to local aquatic and terrestrial wildlife.

Our community has historically viewed the Susquehanna River as a threat to be feared.  With the completion of the levee project, we now have the chance to transform the Susquehanna River into an asset to be cherished.  If we seize the opportunity to continue improving the water quality and develop a seasonal lake along the Susquehanna Riverfront, our region will enjoy the environmental and economic benefits for generations to come. 

**Appeared in the Sunday, April 30, 2006 editions of both The Citizens' Voice and The Times-Leader