Concerns remain after controlled explosion on Monongahela River

BUNOLA, Pa. (KDKA) -- Just weeks after a controlled explosion that began a project to remove a dam in Elizabeth, there are many concerns.

Boaters on a nearby marina are seeing much more shoreline than they're used to.

For decades, David Shallenberger has called part of the Monongahela River in Bunola his second home.

"There was a lot of things to do," he said. "Water skiing, go up and down the river, and go fishing."

He spends much of his summers at the Carousel Marina with his wife, Lynn.

"That's part of the ecosystem over the river that's now dead on the pole," Lynn Shallenberger said, referring to dead clams on a pole by the docks at the marina.

David and Lynn have noticed that something's been up lately, though.

"You go down the railing, you can see dramatically how much the river has dropped by my husband's markings," Lynn said.

A blast is what they believe is creating the problem.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began demolition a dam in Elizabeth. It had been there since 1907.

Down the Monongahela, the difference in gauge height is noticeable.

"He didn't make any more markings," Lynn said. "We're down on the dirt right here. We're down on the mud."

David, Lynn, and others who use the Marina are concerned they won't be able to get their boats back onshore come winter.

"They all have to be pulled [out of] here because the docks come out, too," David said.

Many boats have had to move outward because, without the water, they would be stuck and rendered immobile. David thinks it's taking away visitors, too.

"A lot of boats would come down in the evening, go up and have meals," he said. But the docks down there, they're sort of in the mud, can't get to them either."

A worker at a restaurant by the Marina told KDKA-TV off-camera that business has been slow since the blast.

What's been faster? Losing what they believe is about 40% of the marina they love.

"I'm not an engineer, but just being a layman and living on this river for 40 years, somebody messed up somewhere big time," Lynn said.

The project was supposed to be completed in December.

Because of the lower-than-expected water levels, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh Division said the expected completion date has been moved up to Aug. 28, as the timetable has been accelerated.