Blog
Want to know the hot topics in Howard County stormwater? Click here to have our blog sent to your inbox every 2 weeks—we’ll give you the rundown on runoff. Learn about people, places, and things in Howard County stormwater management. Don’t be impervious to the stormwater facts!
July 31, 2014
Seasonal
When Disaster Strikes – Stay Green
Given Mother Nature’s recent outbursts in this area, let’s talk about being prepared. Whether we’re facing another snowpocalyspe, hurricane, earthquake, flood, or even an afternoon electrical storm, it’s easy to be prepared while still being “green.” Having witnessed the chaos that ensued in the Twitter world just before Irene hit (i.e.“[insert name of any store here] in #HoCo just ran out of... Read more
July 31, 2014
Watershed Protection and Restoration Fee
Out Of The Shadows
The forgotten utility is coming out of the shadows.
For the last 18 months I have been blogging about the underfunded and often misunderstood stormwater management program. After years on the back burner, the status of this important environmental program is about to change. Last week, County Executive Ulman introduced legislation to create a dedicated Watershed Protection and Restoration Fund –... Read more
July 31, 2014
Trees
Buffers? You Mean Those Things That Wax Your Cars?
As evidenced by the County’s recent give-away, 2010 Trees in 2010, planting trees is a high priority for the County. What is the return on investment for such a program? I’ll tell you…Trees:
- Remove carbon dioxide from the air and produce oxygen;
- Provide food and habitat for wildlife;
- Intercept water, store some of it, and reduce storm runoff and the possibility... Read more
July 31, 2014
Stormwater in Schools
Students Branching Out At Glenwood MS
Students Branching Out is a Howard County project to involve students in local tree planting projects. The most recent site was at Glenwood Middle School. This was a new twist on the project because it was the first time that we planted trees on school grounds. That made involving the students easier, since all we had to do was walk across the school fields to get there.
Despite some weird... Read more
July 31, 2014
Watershed Protection and Restoration Fee
Why Inspections Are Important
Some ask us why it is important to inspect stormwater infrastructure on an annual basis. For owners, inspections are the best way to ensure their facilities are functioning correctly. Inspections can also reduce the cost of maintenance by catching small problems before they grow into more expensive issues.
We recently encountered a situation that illustrated a more urgent reason to inspect — to... Read more