Did you know that there are 85 "stormsheds" that flow into Baltimore’s Harbor? Did you know that just one of them, Harris Creek Watershed 246 routinely dumps over three tons of trash into the Harbor every month? Well, now you do!
The Parks & People Foundation is partnering with the Cleaner Greener Baltimore Initiative, the Baltimore Harbor Watershed Association (BHWA), Baltimore City Department of Public Works, the Center for Watershed Protection, and the Chesapeake Bay Trust to focus greening resources on the Harris Creek stormshed, which is a 1200 acre area with 44,000 residents.
The historic Harris Creek, where the USS Constellation was first built and the iron plate for the USS Monitor was rolled, now lies completely underground and is fed by the multitude of storm drains scattered throughout Watershed 246. This ‘stormshed’ empties directly into the Baltimore Harbor near Anchorage Towers on Boston Street.
The Harris Creek project aims to bring the various stakeholders together including residents, community garden clubs, church groups, municipal agencies, schools, and other community organizations. By bringing these groups together and working to align their goals and concerns around the benefits of a cleaner and greener community, Parks & People, Public Works, and BHWA will develop a watershed plan aimed at reducing trash, increasing greenspace, creating more natural hydrology, and improving the livability of the community. A trash collector at the outfall to the Harbor will measure the improvements brought about by this watershed initiative. When successful, this project will be replicated for the other 85 stormsheds that flow to the Harbor.
It you are interest in this project, contact Phillip Stafford at 410-448-5663 x111 or email at phillip.stafford@parksandpeople.org
West Baltimore is a Model Water Quality Demonstration in Watershed 263
Action by the Watershed 263 Community Stakeholder Council has been in full swing for 2009. The Council was organized by Parks & People Foundation working closely with the Baltimore City Department of Public Works (DPW) to create a Neighborhood Greening Framework and Water Quality Management Plan.
This spring the Council participated in National Arbor Day by setting a goal of planting at least one tree in the 13 neighborhoods that make up Watershed 263, one of 355 city stormsheds. Falling a little short of this ambitious goal, the Council nonetheless planted 18 trees in over half of the stormshed’s neighborhoods. In addition, DPW installed five new bi-retention facilities to add to the five Parks & People installed a couple of years ago to improve the quality of stormwater as is flows to the Middle Branch of the Patapsco River.
This fall as part of NeighborWoods month, the Council will again participate in tree plantings and other activities that target their goals of "addressing water quality issues that impact the quality of life, environment, safety, and public services."
The Council has also decided that a video is an excellent mode of education and they will be producing a video about Watershed 263, the work being done to improve it, and why these greening initiatives can help the Chesapeake Bay cleanup. The goal is to use the video as a motivator to get more people involved.
If you have any questions or are interested in joining the WS263 council please contact Jaleel Nash at 410 448-5663 ext 103 or jaleel.nash@parksandpeople.org.
