Sustainable Stormwater Management

We will have a booth at the 2011 Maryland Engineers Conference.  Come visit us!

For more information visit:

www.mdspe.org

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Thanks to Tom Schueler for forwarding this info to us.  This important question is often raised – should stormwater sediments be treated as hazardous waste?

A study was recently conducted to evaluate the toxicity of sediments accumulated in the forebays of 30 wet ponds and wetlands across the state of North Carolina.  The sediments were sampled and tested for metals including: cadmium, chromium, copper, iron, lead, nickel and zinc.  The full report can be found on Tom’s Chesapeake Stormwater Network website.

The results from the study show that the sediments dredged from forebays meet US Environmental Protection Agency Standards for land application of biosolids.  However, 17 out of 30 sites exceeded sediment guidelines for aquatic health.

This study emphasizes the need for routine forebay sediment removal.  Sediment removal is typically performed to increase the capacity of the forebays, which tend to fill with silt over time, reducing their effectiveness for pretreatment.  However, as shown in this study, an added benefit of removing the sediment may be increased aquatic health of the stormwater facility.  This study also verifies that it is acceptable to spread spoils on the land nearby as long as they are stabilized with seed and mulch or matting.

Forebay sediment removal can be included in a routine maintenance program for your site.  When performed on an on-going basis, the costs are much lower than waiting for major accumulation.  Once sediment accumulations, costs for removal and disposal increase dramatically.

An amazing satellite photo taken on 9/13/11 from NASA shows an incredible sediment plume from the recent record rainfalls flowing into the Chesapeake Bay.

Link to original:  http://lance-modis.eosdis.nasa.gov/imagery/subsets/?subset=ChesapeakeBayWatershed.2011256.aqua.250m

9/13/11 Sediment Plume

Join us for the upcoming Trash Bash at Nick’s Fish House in Baltimore.  It is a great time, fantastic food, and the event supports a good cause. Purchase tickets here.

Blue Water Baltimore is entered in Tom’s of Maine competition and could win $50,000 or $20,000. You can vote one time from each computer one time per day. Have you voted yet today??? ONLY ONE WEEK LEFT!!! Vote on every computer you have and do it with every browser you have on each computer every day. They are are in 8th place, and need to get to at least 6th place to get $20K. So keep voting and remind your friends to do the same.

Do it now: Just go to www.50statesforgood.com and click on Blue Water Baltimore.

Last week we were involved in a pavement removal project at a school in Hampden to help out Blue Water Baltimore.  Post on that coming soon.

Now they have the opportunity to win money to do it more:

Blue Water Baltimore’s campaign to de-pave our city school grounds has been selected as a finalist in Tom’s of Maine 50 States for Good competition.  If they win, they get $50k!  Five runners up get $20k each.  It would be would greatly appreciated if you could vote for BWB every day from now until Sept. 13 at www.50statesforgood.com.

Even better, please help BWB go viral by sending this out to any and all business associates, friends, family and by posting on Facebook, Twitter, etc.This could mean big press for Baltimore greening efforts, and a lot more projects that will dramatically reduce  stormwater runoff and transform parking lots into vibrant outdoor  classrooms.

We are presenting this webcast August 11, 12:00-1:30pm in conjunction with Tom Schueler of the Chesapeake Stormwater Network as part of the Chesapeake Bay Stormwater Training Partnership.

Sign-up here.

Description:  Concerns about maintaining LID practices are a recurring theme among stormwater managers and professionals alike. The comprehensive webcast will address how LID maintenance problems can be reduced through improved design, construction protection, installation methods, and final inspection and project acceptance procedures. In addition, the webcast will feature tips on how to modify local stormwater maintenance programs to meet the future maintenance challenges associated with an increased number of distributed LID practice. The webcast will include a guest speaker, Ted Scott, who operates a private stormwater maintenance company that manages hundreds of stormwater facilities across the Chesapeake Bay. The webcast will also go over a newly released CSN Technical Bulletin on LID maintenance to assist designers and local stormwater managers on this important topic. Presenters: Ted Scott (Stormwater Maintenance, LLC) & Tom Schueler (CSN)

We have been helping out Blue Water Baltimore on their latest Baltimore City School Greening project dubbed the Pavement to Prairie Party – located on 36th Street in Hampden.  We’ll be there Monday for a huge event that will include musicians and crews from the Warped Tour that will be at Merryweather Plost the next day.  Should be quite an event.  Come join us!

Maryland Governor O’Malley signed the Fertilizer Use Act of 2011 on May 19, 2011.  This law aims to reduce the amount of nutrients washing into the Chesapeake Bay by restricting the amounts of phosphorous and nitrogen applied and limiting the application timeframes.

Specifically, the new law:

• Restricts phosphorous amounts in lawn fertilizer with certain exceptions for specially labeled starter fertilizer and organic fertilizer products.
• Decreases the total amount of nitrogen that may be applied to turf and specifies that 20 percent is to be applied in a slow release form.
• Prohibits labeling a fertilizer product as a de-icer.
• Requires fertilizer products to contain the following statement: “Do not apply near water, storm drains or drainage ditches.  Do not apply if heavy rain is expected.  Apply this product only to your lawn and sweep any product that lands on the driveway, sidewalk, or street, back into your lawn.”
• Established the Maryland Department of Agriculture, State Chemist Section, as the enforcement authority for content and labeling requirements.
• Prohibits the use of fertilizers between November 15 and March 1, when the ground is frozen and within 10-15 feet of waterways.
• Restricts the amount of phosphorous and nitrogen applied to turf.
• Prohibits applying fertilizer to impervious surfaces.

The Maryland Department of Agriculture has enforcement authority and can fine violaters up to $1000 for the first violation and up to $2000 for each subsequent violation.

Chesapeake Bay Bridge

We are hopeful that this law will prove successful as it is implemented and a noticeable difference will be seen in the health of our local waterways and ultimately in the Chesapeake Bay.  The Bay is a valuable local resource and we need to do our part to ensure it remains beautiful and viable for the long run.