Here, the Cornell landscape architecture students present their ideas in drawing and design.
1. Birds-Eye Overview: A Shared River Vision for the Susquehanna River
2. Alternative energy generation includes wind turbines and solar panels embedded in bridge infrastructure
Energy generated by turbines and panels can be collected via the existing transmission infrastructure. Monitoring these installations can provide valuable information for their improvement so that they might be used on bridge infrastructure elsewhere. Within the existing power station, we imagine an alternative energy research center and perhaps an industry incubator to test prototype energy installations for eventual manufacture. These installations use the existing infrastructure while allowing the river to retain its connectivity for anadromous fishes like the American Shad, American Eel, and Atlantic Sturgeon, once plentiful in the Susquehanna.
The visualization below shows the dam removed, but the power-house (left) retained and re-purposed. The bridge structure is still retained, but now has "bird friendly" wind turbines that will also be designed to withstand flood flows. To the right, we see a large bank of solar panels.
What the view does not show is how the topography of the lowered reservoir will appear. But we know (from examining old maps) that islands now submerged will be seen again, and that the initial exposure will be...mucky! With time, however, the river and sediments will re-equilibrate.
The visualization below shows the dam removed, but the power-house (left) retained and re-purposed. The bridge structure is still retained, but now has "bird friendly" wind turbines that will also be designed to withstand flood flows. To the right, we see a large bank of solar panels.
What the view does not show is how the topography of the lowered reservoir will appear. But we know (from examining old maps) that islands now submerged will be seen again, and that the initial exposure will be...mucky! With time, however, the river and sediments will re-equilibrate.
3. Reinventing the identity of the Conowingo
When the dam is removed, a bridge must be constructed in its place to retain vehicular connectivity across the Susquehanna. Adding pedestrian walkways across the bridge would allow for amazing views of the river, bird and fish watching, and create a new walking trail along and across the river. Reuse of the power plant signage is a way to retain, but reinvent, the identity of the place. Remnants of the dam infrastructure will be reused throughout the site to ensure that the memory of the dam is always present for education and interpretation.
4. New opportunities for recreation on the Susquehanna
Once the Conowingo Dam is removed, gradually the river will equilibrate at a lower level (see Mapping Change). Islands now covered will re-emerge, creating new aquatic and emergent habitats for fish and wildlife. Recreational activities will abound, and could include an exploratory paddle, fly fishing, or even a whitewater adventure in rapids areas.
5. "Flood-friendly" Polyculture: Small farms could be re-established along the river
When one or more of the main stem dams are removed, the Susquehanna will once again have a natural flow regime. In such a large river, this means that flooding can and will occur. Because agriculture is so important in this region, we envisioned that re-exposed floodplain agriculture could be re-established here, but that an adaptive landscape, oriented toward polyculture that takes into account water level variability, could harmonize communities with the river's dynamic