Howard officials probing ‘problem areas’ at Upper Little Patuxent watershed

BALTIMORE (Map, News) - From investigating eroding river banks to trash dumps, Howard officials are taking a close look at the 17 square miles of the Upper Little Patuxent River watershed to find ways to improve water quality.

“We are identifying problem areas,” said Mark Richmond, a project engineer with Howard’s Stormwater Management Division in the county’s Department of Public Works.

A watershed study is required every five years for a Maryland Department of the Environment permit for discharges from the county’s storm-water management system, Richmond said.

“Beyond that, we want to assess all the watersheds in the county,” he said, adding this assessment is part of a second, more detailed round of studies of the watersheds.

Much of the development in the overall Little Patuxent River watershed was completed before current storm-water management practices, so the biological and physical habitat is degraded, according to the county’s 2002 Watershed Restoration Action Strategy.

From a detailed review of the Upper Little Patuxent River, officials can develop a list of priorities for improving water quality, which could include capital projects and a public education campaign.

For example, after a 2005 study of the Centennial and Wilde Lake watersheds, officials installed small rain gardens to manage storm-water runoff near Burleigh Manor Middle, Wilde Lake Middle and Centennial High schools, Richmond said.

Howard officials held a public meeting recently to tell residents about the study, and plan to hold another one in January to present a proposal for projects, Richmond said.

The Columbia Association, which owns much of the open space in Columbia, also has taken an aggressive stance on improving the watershed and will take advantage of the county review, CA spokesman Steve

Sattler said.

The CA has hired a consultant to help develop a watershed management plan and formed a watershed advisory committee to advise on community involvement and education.

“We don’t look at this as a short-term solution,” he said.

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