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Flood Warning for Parts of Eastern Panhandle, Emergency Officials Urge Caution if Traveling

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Final Update on Monday, May 21, 2018 at 3:17 p.m.

After several days of continuous rainfall, the Eastern Panhandle is no longer under a flood warning or flood watch by the National Weather Service.

Between 4 and 9.5 inches of rain fell on counties in the Eastern Panhandle last week. No substantial damages or injuries have been reported — though there were three vehicle rescues in Berkeley County.

As of 4:30 a.m. Monday, Jefferson and Berkeley County authorities said all rivers are now out of flood stage, and any water still on the roads is minor and will likely recede within the next few days.

The Opequon Creek and the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers in Berkeley and Jefferson counties had been at risk of flooding for four days in a row.

All roads in Berkeley and Jefferson are now open, and the Opequon Creek has receded off of a bridge in Martinsburg.

Emergency declarations were made in Berkeley and Jefferson counties after four days of storms last week.

Updated on Sunday, May 20, 2018 at 3:15 p.m.

Flood warnings continue along the Potomac River in West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle after several days of heavy rains.

The National Weather Service says the river at Shepherdstown was more than 2 feet above flood stage Sunday morning and was expected to fall below flood stage by Monday morning.

Opequon Creek near Martinsburg was about a foot above flood stage Sunday morning and was expected to fall below flood stage by Sunday night.

Flooding caused several road closures in the area. Emergency declarations were made in Berkeley and Jefferson counties after four days of storms.

Updated on Saturday, May 19, 2018 at 1:34 p.m.

A flood watch for Berkeley, Jefferson, Morgan, Hampshire, and Hardy Counties remains in effect through 8:00 p.m. Saturday evening.

The National Weather Service reports a flood warning for the Opequon Creek near Berkeley and Jefferson Counties remains in effect through Sunday afternoon.

The creek still covers a bridge in Martinsburg and some nearby lowlands near the Van Metre Ford Pedestrian Bridge near Grapevine Road. The bridge remains closed.

Use caution when traveling in this area.

There is a flood warning still in place for areas of the Potomac and Shenandoah River through Monday morning.

Certain roads in Berkeley and Jefferson Counties remain closed due to flooding.

Updated on Friday, May 18, 2018 at 11:10 a.m.

A flood watch remains in effect through Saturday morning for parts of the Eastern Panhandle and Potomac Highlands, including Berkeley, Jefferson, Morgan, Hampshire, Hardy, Grant, Mineral, and Pendleton Counties.

The National Weather Service is reporting periods of rain will continue across the region through at least Friday night. Rain could be heavy at times and bring additional rainfall of 1 to 5 inches in some areas.

Jefferson County Homeland Security and Emergency Management noted on its Facebook page that the Opequon Creek near Martinsburg was in moderate flood stage Friday morning but is expected to crest again at nearly 14 feet by Saturday afternoon.

Due to week long bouts of rainfall, the Opequon Creek covers most of a bridge in Martinsburg near Grapevine Road and has flooded nearby fields. Photo taken on Thursday, May 17, 2018 at 7:21 p.m.

Several roads in the area remain closed and nearby lowlands are flooded.

The Potomac River in Shepherdstown and Harpers Ferry are in minor flood stage and expected to crest at nearly 20 feet by Sunday morning.

The Shenandoah River at Millville is expected to be in minor flood stage by Friday evening and is expected to crest at 12 feet early Sunday morning.

A flood warning is in effect for the Opequon Creek and the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers.

A State of Emergency Proclamation was signed by the Jefferson County Commission on Thursday evening.

Original Post:

Continuous rainfall has been affecting parts of the Eastern Panhandle since Monday. More rain is expected through the weekend, and a flood watch remains in effect for Berkeley, Jefferson, Morgan, Hardy, Hampshire, and Grant Counties.

Since Monday afternoon, 4 to 6 inches of rain has fallen in the Eastern Panhandle and nearby areas. The National Weather Service is calling for another 2 to 5 inches over the next 48 hours.

0517FloodingEPspot_WEB.mp3

Listen to the story from May 17, 2018 at 4:00 p.m.

A flood warning for the Opequon Creek, which borders both Jefferson and Berkeley Counties, is in effect until further notice. The Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers are expected to be in flood stage by Friday evening.

Brandon Vallee is the Public Information Officer for Jefferson County Emergency Management. He’s encouraging residents to stay alert and be careful if traveling over the next few days.

“If you do see water on the roadways, we have had several reports of culverts washed out or damaged roads, so if you can’t see the bottom of the road, turn around, don’t drown. It’s not worth it,” he said.

Vallee and Berkeley County Emergency Manager Randy Lilly say there have been no evacuations so far in either Jefferson or Berkeley Counties, but several roads have been closed.

Residents are encouraged to make sure they have food and supplies to last for the next 48 to 72 hours.

May 3, 1924: Flood at Harper's Ferry Permanently Shuts Down Chesapeake & Ohio Canal

On May 3, 1924, a devastating flood at Harpers Ferry wiped out a highway bridge and permanently shut down the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal.

The canal, located entirely on the Maryland side of the Potomac River, was the brainchild of George Washington and others who wanted to connect the Atlantic Ocean and Ohio River by bypassing less-navigable portions of the Potomac. Construction began in Washington, D.C., in 1828 and reached Harpers Ferry, with much fanfare, six years later. One of the biggest engineering challenges was a more than half-mile-long 24-foot-high tunnel, which was cut through Sorrel Ridge north of the Morgan County town of Paw Paw—the largest man-made structure on the canal.

The canal was opened between Washington and Cumberland, Maryland, in 1850, bringing an economic boost to what is now West Virginia’s eastern panhandle. By 1850, though, the canal had already been bypassed—in speed, efficiency, and distance—by the new Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Mules and canal boats continued to transport goods along the canal—with varying levels of commercial success—until the 1924 flood closed it for good.

May 3, 1924: Flood at Harper's Ferry Permanently Shuts Down Chesapeake & Ohio Canal

On May 3, 1924, a devastating flood at Harpers Ferry wiped out a highway bridge and permanently shut down the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal.

Activists Crowd Meeting on Proposed Pipeline Under Potomac

Environmental activists crowded a TransCanada open house Thursday in western Maryland, blocking access to displays about the company’s proposed pipeline beneath the Potomac River to carry natural gas from Pennsylvania to West Virginia.

Protest leaders pledged a sustained campaign against the project, planned by the same Canadian energy company behind the disputed Keystone XL oil pipeline.

Russell Mokhiber of Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, told the peaceful protesters they can defeat the Eastern Panhandle Expansion Project by making their concerns about potential leaks known to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission once TransCanada files its application in March.

“We’re going to defeat this pipeline and move on to a better world with solar energy,” Mokhiber said after leading scores of demonstrators in singing, “Down to the River to Pray,” in the community room of the Hancock Town Hall.

TransCanada spokesman Scott Castleman said it was unfortunate that people curious about the project had difficulty reaching company executives stationed at seven tables around the room. He said the pipeline, 72 feet below the river bed, would support growth in the region by increasing a gas supply that is nearing capacity due partly to a Procter & Gamble manufacturing plant under construction near Tabler Station, West Virginia.

“We’re looking to have conversations with people in the community who want questions answered by our experts,” Castleman said.

The 3.4-mile project would connect a TransCanada pipeline in Pennsylvania to a Mountaineer Gas line in West Virginia by late 2018.

Opponents say a gas leak could taint local aquifers and the Potomac, a drinking-water source for downstream communities including Washington, D.C.

The project will require permits from the state of Maryland, which owns the Potomac, and the National Park Service since the pipeline also would run beneath the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park. The canal parallels the river for nearly 185 miles from Washington to Cumberland. The line would cross the river near Hancock, a town of about 1,500 about 120 miles upstream from Washington.

The Keystone XL project would extend from Canada’s tar sands through Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska, where it would connect with the existing Keystone pipeline route to carry crude oil to specialized refineries along the Texas Gulf Coast. The Obama administration rejected the company’s State Department permit application, citing climate-change concerns, but President Donald Trump has invited TransCanada to reapply.

Activists Oppose Proposed Gas Pipeline Beneath Potomac River

A Potomac River protection group is organizing a demonstration against plans for a pipeline beneath the river that would carry natural gas from Pennsylvania to West Virginia.

Brent Walls of the Potomac Riverkeeper Network says demonstrators plan a silent protest Thursday night at an open house that TransCanada officials are holding in Hancock to discuss the plan.

The company says the project would increase supply options and system reliability.

Walls says a gas leak would put at risk a drinking-water source for 6 million people, including residents of Washington, D.C., and its suburbs.

The Hancock Town Council agreed last month to allow the pipeline beneath town-owned land.

The National Park Service is considering a survey application for the Chesapeake and Ohio National Historical Park, which parallels the river.

Maryland Won't Limit West Virginia's Access to Potomac

After threatening to sue the state of Maryland, West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey has announced that Maryland is halting the permitting process that would have restricted West Virginia’s use of the Potomac River.

News outlets report that Morrisey had told Maryland officials in early November that the state of Maryland could not impose regulations on West Virginia’s rights to draw from the river.

Morrisey announced Wednesday that Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh and Maryland Secretary of the Environment Ben Grumbles said in a Nov. 22 letter that West Virginia users are not required to get permits from Maryland.

Morrisey had argued that his state needs the water to support a $500 million manufacturing plant that P&G plans to build on its side of the Potomac.