CONOWINGO — It’s been 12 years since the public has been allowed to go inside the Conowingo Dam.
Since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, much of the hydroelectric plant, which straddles the Susquehanna River connecting Cecil and Harford County, has been off limits as a precaution.
On Friday and Saturday, however, Exelon Generation, owner and operator of the 85-year-old dam, led more than 1,000 people on guided tours.
“We provided 56 tours to 1,010 people,” said Bob Judge, Exelon spokesman. “We did this because of requests from the public and the high interest in the dam.”
Judge said the change of heart had nothing to do with the re-licensing process that is underway. Exelon is working through the process of renewing its 34-year Federal Energy Regulatory Commission license, which expires Sept. 1, 2014.
“It’s in response to requests from the public,” he said.
Brad Visilias, of Stewartstown, Pa., enjoyed the tour of the inner workings of the dam.
“I knew a lot of it from science class last year, how the turbines and the engines work,” the 13-year-old said.
Visilias, who is considering a future in engineering, enjoyed seeing the class lesson come alive in front of him.
“All this stuff is right up my alley,” he said. “I definitely wanted to check out the fish lifts.”
Wayne Sprout said he was surprised by what he saw.
“I’ve lived here about 70 years and this was my first time inside the dam,” the Elkton man said Friday. His favorite part was seeing the turbines up close. “I hadn’t expected them to be so massive.”
Kelley Icart, who home schools her 13- and 14-year-old children, said this was a good field trip for the Aberdeen family.
“We did a little bit of research before we came,” Icart said. “It was good to see the outside from the inside.”
The tour took visitors past the enormous turbines that use the Susquehanna’s rushing water to generate electricity. Visitors went deep into the structure to see the machinery, but also were taken to the top to learn about the fish lifts that carry American shad upriver to spawn.
Judge said the event was so successful it would likely be repeated.
“We decided this was a good test to make sure this works,” he said. “We’ll probably do it again about this time next year.”
