Posted on January 16, 2018
By Rich Lord, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
More than two dozen barges have broken away from their moorings in the high waters throughout the Pittsburgh area, the Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh District reported Saturday.
Jeff Hawk, spokesman for district, said that 27 barges were believed to be adrift, including at least 15 that were stuck against the Emsworth Lock and Dam, the first such structure on the Ohio River.
Mr. Hawk said that there could be additional barges submerged beneath those barges. There was one barge on a nearby back channel. Others apparently cleared the dam, and had floated down the river.
One barge cleared the Dashields Dam, he said, but had apparently been retrieved. He did not know who retrieved it.
The corps is involved in planning to salvage the barges, he said.
“If these barges create a severe impediment to the passage of water and ice, the water can back up into the Pittsburgh pool and affect residents and businesses along the Ohio River,” he said. He recommended that people with homes or businesses along the river pay attention to local news or the district’s Facebook page.
Around 1 p.m., water was still passing through the dam, which had its gates open and no apparent structural damage, he said.
He said that marinas, other dams and bridges downriver from Emsworth could face damage.
“These barges are all loaded,” he said. “Some of them have coal in them, so they are very heavy.” But for the moment, most or all of them were stationary.
U.S Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 7-8 Air Sea – Sewickley and Pittsburgh District, US Army Corps of Engineers were on scene and assessing the situation.
Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
