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Low head dam in Codorus Creek where 11-year-old drowned could be removed

After an 11-year-old drowned while swimming near a low head dam, officials are renewing their focus on dam safety and how a dam could exist without any record of it.

SPRING GROVE, Pa. — After an 11-year-old boy drowned while swimming near a low head dam in York County, officials are renewing their focus on dam safety and how a dam could exist without any record of it being there.

The 11-year-old was swimming with a friend in Cordorus Creek in Jackson Township on March 25, according to the York County Coroner’s report. The boy was swept under the water of a low head dam. He was found unresponsive on the bank and died despite resuscitation measures.

In the wake of the incident, low head dams have come under scrutiny.

“It’s kind of a wake-up call to look at what additional safety measures we need to implement,” said Bill Seib, chief of operation at the Baltimore District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).

Low head dams have been dubbed “drowning machines” because they can create a current that can hold underwater even experienced swimmers and those wearing life vests.

Credit: Iowa Department of Natural Resources
A graphic by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources showing how low head dam currents can create a hazard.

A 1998 law requires dam owners to post warning signs up- and downstream.

State Rep. Keith Gillespie (R-Hellam) introduced a 2019 law to strengthen enforcement of the sign requirements.

But the Cordorus dam fell through a loophole because it was not listed on any official records.

“Because this dam was not on DEP’s radar, it was not one of the dams that was monitored for signage,” Gillespie said. “Thus there were no signs at the scene.”

Signs were installed both up- and downstream of the dam on April 1.

USACE acquired the land in 1941 and 1942 as part of the Indian Rock Dam Flood Risk Management Project, but did not build the dam. The dam was also not listed in USACE records.

“It’s not on the Corps record, and it’s not on the national inventory of dams,” Seib said.

Pennsylvania also doesn’t have any record of the dam, according to Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) spokesperson John Repetz.

USACE is considering what to do with the structure and other dams that have no current use.

Removing the dam remains an option, Seib said.

“To see if we should remove the dam, not only at this site, but all our project sites,” Seib said.

Multiple state agencies are working to identify any other unlisted dams, Gillespie said.

RELATED: Officials provide precautions for low-head dams after the accidental death of an 11-year-old boy

RELATED: UPDATE: Coroner issues correction on spelling of 11-year-old boy's name who died in drowning at Codorus Creek

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