Sustainable Frederick County
Summer 2018
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Frederick County Experiences Historic Flooding
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On May 15th and 16th, 2018
Frederick County experienced a historical rain event. The ensuing stormwater flooding led to both Frederick County and Frederick City issuing a State of Emergency. The area between Middletown and Brunswick was hit the hardest after 6+ inches of rain fell in just a few hours. The flooding caused Frederick County Highway Operations to close 53 County roads due to high water. Many roads were able to reopen after the water receded, but a few had major damage and needed to remain closed for several weeks until repairs could be made. Three roads had major slope failures and are now being engineered as to the type of repairs that are needed. Most of the repairs will be completed by mid-August. Many houses and businesses sustained heavy damage during the flooding, and emergency responders rescued multiple people who had become trapped in their vehicles due to rising flood waters.
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The rain continued throughout May. The
U.S. Geological Survey
reported a total of 12 inches of rain at the Carroll Creek monitoring station near Frederick City. Many portions of the County received much larger totals for the month. Local waterways swelled out of their banks, with the Monocacy River above 14 feet, Carroll Creek cresting above 10 feet and Culler Lake overtopping its banks as Baker Park flooded.
(Baker Park photos courtesy of Kim Campbell).
Safety Tips to Remember During Flooding Events:
- Avoid flooded roadways when traveling, even if the water is not deep; "Turn around, don't drown",
- Avoid low lying areas prone to flash flooding or areas you may become isolated or trapped if waters rise quickly;
- Alert appropriate authorities if you discover misplaced animals that need help;
- Heed all safety advisories by local agencies and authorities.
OSER recently created a presentation
"
Raindrop Rodeo: Lassoing the Challenge of Stormwater Management
" that explains stormwater management efforts for both controlling flooding and treatment of the waters. The presentation can be found
here,
under "Resources" at the bottom of the page.
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OSER Receives Over $1 Million in Grant Funding for Stormwater Projects
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In June, the Office of Sustainability and Environmental Resources received notice that it is being awarded
over $1 Million in funding
from the
Maryland Department of Natural Resources Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Trust Fund Grant
. The grant will help to fund stormwater projects in the County including the
Creek ReLeaf Program
,
a multi-year reforestation program assisting with the County’s
MS4 permit
requirements, and is designed to increase the total amount of forested area within Frederick County, including privately owned lands and public properties. Other funded projects include two County owned stormwater pond retrofits and projects at the Frederick County Extension Services site that include a
bioretention facility (rain garden), two proprietary filtration and treatment installations (Filterra), a rain harvesting system (rain wall) for Master Gardener use and reforestation down-gradient of the facility.
The
Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Trust Fund (Trust Fund)
allows Maryland to accelerate Bay restoration by focusing limited financial resources on the most efficient, cost-effective non-point source pollution control projects.
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Homeowner Best Management Practices for Stormwater
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Do you have stormwater runoff issues on your property that you would like to address? Below is a list of best management practices that you can implement that will help to reduce the runoff and pollution that affects the water we use for drinking, swimming, and fishing:
- Rain Garden (pictured at bottom) - A rain garden is an excavated depression in the soil that allows rainwater runoff from impervious areas like roofs, driveways, and compacted lawn areas to infiltrate into the ground.
- Conservation Landscaping (pictured at top) - Conservation Landscaping often replaces areas of turf grass with native plants and is a garden that improves water quality, promotes and preserves native species, and provides wildlife habitat.
- Tree Planting - Trees are an important practice in managing runoff. The roots of trees take up water and create conditions in the soil that promote infiltration. The leaf canopies also help to reduce erosion caused by falling rain.
- Rain Barrel (center picture) - A rain barrel is a system that collects and stores rainwater from your roof that would otherwise be lost to runoff and diverted to storm drains and streams.
The
University of Maryland Extension
website is a great resource for tips on how to slow down the stormwater on your property. Click
here
to see which best management practices are best for your property and how to properly install them.
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Where We Were!
We had a very busy Spring! We started off in April by hanging out with some of our four-legged friends at the
Fast & Furriest Run/Walk.
Mid-month, we saw many of you at the
Middletown Green Expo
, the
Catoctin Nature Fest
, and the
Thurmont Green Fest
. It was a beautiful spring day at the
2nd Annual Green Neighbor Festival
in Baker Park on May 12th and we had fun making colorful wind spirals and planters from recycled water bottles with the young environmentalists who visited us. Rounding out Spring, many of you ventured out on a very rainy weekend to see us at the
Mother Earth News Fair
held in early June at the Frederick Fairgrounds.
Where We Will Be!
If you missed us this Spring, you will still have a few more chances to stop by and see us this Fall! We will be at Frederick's
"In the Street"
festival on Saturday, September 8th and at
Brunswick Railroad Days
on October 6th and 7th,
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A Fond Farewell
We bid a fond farewell to our
Sustainability Program Coordinator, Lisa Orr.
Lisa is moving on to a new position as Executive Director of Mountainside Education and Enrichment.
Over the last 7 years, Lisa was instrumental in creating the
Green Homes Challenge
, an online certification tool that guides, rewards, and recognizes households for saving energy and adopting green lifestyle practices. She also helped to secure several grants from the
Maryland Energy Administration
for the
Power Saver Retrofit Program
. This program provides low-to-moderate income homeowners with energy saving home improvements.
We wish Lisa all the best in her new position and we thank her for her efforts! Lisa will be missed!
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Waterford Park Transformation
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The
Monocacy and Catoctin Watershed Alliance (MCWA)
quarterly meeting was held on July 14, 2018 at
Waterford Park
in Frederick.
Ginny Brace
, a volunteer with
Friends of Waterford Park
took members on a tour of the park to see how it has transformed over the last twelve years from an open field to one with many trees planted (and also a
food forest!
)
. A walk through the wooded areas of the park provided the group with an insight to the steps that were taken to control invasive species in the area, as well as some of the impacts of the recent flooding. The tour group also got a chance to see the new shared use path that connects downtown Frederick with the west side of town.
Thank you Ginny
and the Friends of Waterford Park for your efforts!
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Ginny Brace talks to MCWA members about the wildflower garden in Waterford Park.
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Point of Rocks Community Tree Planting
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On
May 5, 2018,
OSER partnered with
Stream-Link Education
for a tree planting event in the Canal Run Communtiy of Point of Rocks, MD.
86 volunteers
planted
300 trees
on a one-acre common area. The volunteers included community residents, local scout troops and Green Leader Brigade members. Many of the children who participated wrote their names on tree stakes so they will know which ones they helped to plant! It was a fun day and a great community event!
Thank you to the
Chesapeake Bay Trust
who funded the grant, Stream-Link Education, the Canal Run HOA and all of the fantastic volunteers!
Photo Credit: Stream-Link Education
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Capital Improvement Projects
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OSER's Capital Improvement Projects
(CIP)
include stormwater management facilities designed to be the most cost effective ways to control flooding and remove excess nutrients from local waterways. CIPs typically span several years from planning to construction and the costs per project total $100,000 or more.
Currently, OSER has
15 projects
in the CIP process with 4 under construction and 9 scheduled to begin construction in the next year. These projects include stormwater ponds and stream restoration projects. To find out more about OSER's CIP work please visit our
website
.
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Englandtowne Stream Restoration
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The OSER team attended the
4
th
Annual Operation Paws for Homes, Fast and Furriest
Dog Walk and Run
event at Monocacy Village Park on April 8th to educate pet owners about pet waste and how we all need to be better pet waste stewards. Test your knowledge below with our
Scoop the Poop
question!
Question:
True or False?
Leaving pet waste on the ground fertilizes the grass just like horse and cow manure.
Answer: False
-
Dog waste is actually more toxic! Pet waste contains harmful organisms such as Giardia, Salmonella and E. coli. Due to their high-protein diet, dog waste is also highly acidic and can burn your grass creating brown patches.
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Septic System Pump-Out Rebate Program
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The
2018 Septic System Pump-Out Rebate Program,
launched by
County Executive Jan Gardner
on April 5, 2018, received just over 150 rebate requests from April 5-June 30. The Septic System Pump-Out Rebate Program encourages property owners to have their septic systems pumped out every five years, offering
a
$75.00 rebate
.
Due to the success of round 1 of the program, the program received
additional funding of $50,000 for a second round beginning in July 2018
. Rebates will be available for approximately
667 homeowners
who have their septic system pumped after January 1, 2018, To learn more about the Septic Pump-Out Rebate Program or to download an application, visit our
website
for the "
Homeowner's Guide to Septic Systems
" or contact
Linda Williamson. The program is first come, first served.
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Here’s a quick update on the status of the
Chesapeake Bay
cleanup effort. This information was presented by Dinorah Dalmasy and Greg Busch from the
Maryland Department of the Environment
and others at a workshop in Western Maryland on June 19
th
.
- The Bay continues to improve; the state of the Bay in 2016 was a grade of C up from a D in 2007.
- The dead zone in the Bay is shrinking, though it is projected to be larger than average this year.
- Living resources are recovering, especially crabs, oysters, and submerged aquatic vegetation.
- The Chesapeake Bay pollution reductions need to be met by 2025. Maryland expects to meet sediment and phosphorus goals but currently sees a gap in nitrogen that will have to be addressed.
- Maryland’s nitrogen loads to the Bay went from 84.2 million pounds per year in 1985 to 54.8 in 2017. 65% of the reductions were from wastewater and 35% from agriculture. Nitrogen contributions to the Bay in 2017 were 42% agriculture, 20% wastewater, 17% stormwater, 6% septic systems, and 15% natural sources.
- Maryland's phosphorus loads went from 7.46 Million pounds per year in 1985 to 3.64 in 2017. 63% of the reductions were from wastewater and 37% from agriculture.
- The state is working with the Environmental Protection Agency’s Chesapeake Bay Program to create a third Phase of the Watershed Implementation Plan (WIP III). The final plan will be released in June 2019.
- The stormwater sector is reducing pollution from new development as well as retrofitting old development with stormwater management. Developed areas have grown, so the sector is not showing a reduction in the whole. Jurisdictions will have spent over 1.3 Billion dollars on stormwater retrofit programs by the end of 2019, according to the Maryland Association of Counties.
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