Howard County Continues Watershed Protection Program with Stormwater Management Project at Stevens Forest Elementary School

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Howard County Government
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 July 8, 2014

 

Howard County Continues Watershed Protection Program with Stormwater Management Project at Stevens Forest Elementary School

 

ELLICOTT CITY, MD – Howard County Executive Ken Ulman announced today that the County’s Watershed Protection and Restoration Program is continuing with a project to provide water quality for approximately a quarter-acre of drainage area containing more than a half-acre of impervious surfaces in and around Stevens Forest Elementary School in Columbia. The project will construct trench drains, two microbioretention facilities and one bioswale. The project is expected to begin on or about Monday, July 14.

 

“Projects like this continue our effort to protect the Chesapeake Bay, by minimizing the impact stormwater pollution has on this important estuary,” said County Executive Ken Ulman. “With many more projects to come in the near future, we want our residents see the value of their investments.”

 

Howard County is a leader in responsible stormwater management. Last year, the Howard County Council approved a Watershed Protection and Restoration Plan that is expected to collect $9.5 million yearly for improvement projects. Previously, County Executive Ulman had committed $22 million over the past two years for such projects.

 

The money will be used for stream restorations, pond retrofits, bioretention areas, asphalt reduction and other projects, in order to meet a federally required target of making sure that 20 percent of Howard County’s untreated impervious surface is being treated by 2019.  

 

The Stevens Forest Elementary School stormwater management retrofit project is expected to cost $202,327.26. Of that amount, $200,000.00 will be paid for by a Chesapeake Bay Trust Fund grant, with the remainder paid for by the Watershed Protection and Restoration Fund.

  

Pollutants and chemicals washed by rainwater from impervious surfaces into streams and rivers is a major source of local stream and Chesapeake Bay degradation.

 

Weather permitting, the project is expected to be completed by late August. The project is not expected to impact vehicular traffic in the area.

 

For questions or concerns about Capital Project D-1160, contact Lisa Brightwell, Public Works Customer Service, at 410-313-3440, or by e-mail to publicworks@howardcountymd.gov.

 

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