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Sending Out an SOS To Protect Waterways
Left, algae buildup at Pike Ridge Road. Below, Anne Pearson, coordinator of the Anne Arundel Watershed Network, points out creeks and streams that have been damaged. The network hopes to use a multimillion-dollar fund to raise environmental standards and increase stream protection.
(Photos By Susan Biddle -- The Washington Post)
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The network's ongoing tour shows both good and bad examples of county efforts to manage storm-water runoff. For instance, in Londontown along Mayo Road, Pearson pointed out a sand seepage wetland that cleans, cools and absorbs the runoff from the area. The runoff had intensified in recent years when the South River Colony housing area was built. That prompted the county to create the seepage wetland.
However, a few miles away in Edgewater, across the street from a shopping center, a developer had created a stream bank by using huge rocks covered with wire.
"And this is what's wrong with our storm-water management," Pearson said. "Don't put this monstrous thing in just to handle the water. The rules say replicate the natural environmental system so it works best and it looks good."
Improper storm-water management causes severe erosion and threatens the foundations of homes closer to the mouth of waterways.
"My house could slide into the drain at any moment," said Allan Kreider, whose home, near a storm drain in Arden on the Severn, appears threatened by a deep hole caused by runoff.
Community groups in southern Anne Arundel County have worked for years to block some development projects that they fear would harm the environment and the health of the waterways.
When the county steps in to repair damage done by improper development, said Mike Shay, vice president of South Arundel Citizens for Responsible Development, "that's when you're already behind the curve on a solution. Our community has been upfront on fighting inappropriate projects."
Shay, who is running for the District 33B House of Delegates seat that represents parts of southern Anne Arundel, said residents have not only had to fight developers but also their own representatives.
"I think citizens are begging for leadership to do better," Shay said.
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