admin, Author at Center for Watershed Protection

Preparing for Salinization of our Freshwater Streams

As an ecologically minded person, I'd say that I have been "aware" of the "road salt problem." I've recently become more interested in this issue while working on restoring the Tiber Hudson watershed that drains to downtown Ellicott City where the Center's main office is located. After reviewing some of the past biological assessments, I noted that the reports state that the macroinvertebrate and fish communities were in worse condition than would have been expected by imperviousness alone. Some other impairment was suspected and chloride from road salt was noted as a possibility. Since the long-term watershed goal that I had established for the Tiber Hudson was an [...]

admin2021-01-27T15:02:29-05:00February 28th, 2014|

Maryland’s “Rain Tax” Debunked

Stormwater Fees are Common, Equitable Way to Pay for Reducing Polluted Runoff It’s been inaccurately dubbed a “rain tax” by its opponents, but the stormwater fees that Maryland’s ten most populous jurisdictions are required to charge under the stormwater fee law are anything but. Read the press release here.

admin2017-09-27T07:06:23-04:00January 31st, 2014|

Can We Additive Our Way Out of Too Much Pollution?

Stormwater innovations – it seems like there have been a lot of these over the years. Some new “magic bullet” to solve all water quality problems. “What’s the catch?” you might ask when you hear about this new thing… You keep reading and find out you can only treat one tenth of an acre of drainage area or maybe the system has to be replaced every three months. Or, maybe everything looks good until you see the price tag. All of these have a place but may not be just what you’re looking for. Reviewing the “Cost-Effectiveness Study of Urban [...]

admin2021-02-04T12:22:29-05:00January 14th, 2014|

Hye Yeong Kwon Graduates from Leadership Maryland—Class of 2013

Hye Yeong Kwon, Executive Director, Center for Watershed Protection, Inc., recently completed an eight-month long leadership development program presented by Leadership Maryland. Leadership Maryland, an independent, educational leadership development organization, informs top level executives from the public and private sectors about the critical issues, challenges and opportunities facing the State of Maryland, and its regions. After participating in a broad range of experiences, these statewide leaders are prepared to address these issues and serve as important participants in a unified effort to shape Maryland’s future. “These are the leaders to watch, now, and in the future,” said Leadership Maryland President [...]

admin2017-09-27T07:20:52-04:00January 1st, 2014|

Speaking Up for Non-Native Plants

I love native plants, and the many, well-documented services and benefits they provide, including increased habitat for birds, insects, and wildlife, adaptability to local conditions, and limited fertilizer and water requirements. These benefits, among others, are certainly worthwhile and valuable. I have many native plants throughout my yard (the purple cone flower was beautiful in July, followed by the black-eyed susans coming in strong in August) and in my shady rain garden (the red osier dogwood seems very happy). However, I get concerned when native plants are specified as the only acceptable choice for use in bioretention and related stormwater [...]

admin2017-09-18T06:47:51-04:00December 13th, 2013|

Advocating for a System-based Approach to Stormwater Management

When considering the question of using native vs non-native plants in bioretention and other stormwater management practices, I find myself struggling a bit. First off, I am not one to militantly state that “native plants should ALWAYS be used in a bioretention facility.” I think my bigger struggle with this question is that it seems very reductionist and perhaps instead, we should be asking ourselves, “How can we incorporate a more systems-based approach into our stormwater designs?” With stormwater management practices in urban and suburban environments, one of the primary goals is to mimic pre-development hydrology. Using native plants facilitates [...]

admin2021-02-04T12:22:17-05:00December 13th, 2013|

Climate Change & Stormwater Management: Capacity for Community Adaptation Planning

Stormwater infrastructure – be it pipes, ponds, or rain gardens – is typically designed to convey or capture runoff flows associated with a design storm, the magnitude of which is based on a probability distribution of observed rainfall events. One of the underlying assumptions of this design approach is that the rainfall probability distribution is static. However, recent climate trends across much of the country indicate large events are occurring with greater frequency, casting doubt on (1) the notion of a rainfall distribution that is static in time and (2) that stormwater infrastructure designed by our current design storm approach [...]

admin2017-09-18T09:41:35-04:00November 5th, 2013|

Carrots, Sticks, and Dog Poop

While working on a recent study of Cost Effective Stormwater Management in the James River Watershed for the James River Association, I found myself thinking a lot about dog poop. Although the supporting research is admittedly limited, one of the findings of the study was that pet waste programs are by far the most cost-effective management practice for reducing nutrients in runoff. The cost to remove a pound of nitrogen was estimated at just $0.44, which is 700 times more cost-effective than a bioswale and 1,200 times more cost effective than a pond retrofit. The cost to remove a pound [...]

admin2021-08-02T08:43:21-04:00October 15th, 2013|

Spiral Wetland

Spiral Wetland is an eco-art project supported by the Walton Art Center as part of the Artosphere Festival in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Spiral Wetland is made with native soft rush, Juncus effusus, growing  in a closed-cell foam mat anchored to the lake’s floor. The plants help remove excess nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus from the lake water, and the mat adds shade for fish habitat. Inspired by Spiral Jetty (1970), Robert Smithson’s famous earthwork sited in the Great Salt Lake, Utah, this spiral is a working earthwork floating on the surface of the lake. When the installation is taken down in [...]

admin2017-09-18T09:14:31-04:00September 11th, 2013|

“Let it Rain”- A Raingarden Project in Central Ohio

Raingardens - A New Stormwater Management Tool After over two decades of designing subdivisions, commercial sites and roadways in central Ohio, I thought I had mastered the art of stormwater design. Piping the runoff, with a little detention and water quality treatment, had always been a good recipe. It was fast and efficient, and getting stormwater to the rivers as quickly as possible, after all, had always been the main goal. It took a while for the raingarden concept to catch on with me. At first, I wasn’t too impressed with the landscaped depressions that didn’t drain anywhere. I couldn’t [...]

admin2017-09-18T09:15:59-04:00August 20th, 2013|

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