Our River Our Responsibility Ben Oaks Community Meeting
Our River - Our Responsibility Ben Oaks Community Meeting Stacy Steward
Today’s Agenda • What’s wrong with our river? • How can we help?
Chesapeake Bay 11, 600 miles of Shoreline 18 Trillion Gallons of Water in the Bay Largest Estuary in North America Narrowest point: 3. 4 miles Widest point: 35 miles Brackish Water Average Depth 21 Feet Someone 6 feet tall could walk over 700, 000 acres without getting their hat wet 3, 600 species of plants, fish and animals Length 200 Miles Deepest Part 174 Feet
Three Causes of Water Pollution • Waste Water Treatment • Septic Systems • Stormwater (n. ) Any drop of water that does not sink in to the ground or evaporate, runs off and is considered stormwater.
Definitions • Watershed: An area of land that drains into a body of water. Wherever you are on land, you are standing in a watershed. Fresh Start Church is in the Patapsco Tidal Watershed and the Marley Creek Sub-watershed.
The Chesapeake Bay Watershed A watershed works just like a funnel… All the streams, rivers, and runoff eventually flow to one point: The Chesapeake Bay
Anne Arundel County’s Impaired Waterways and Promulgated TMDLS
Traditional Stormwater Management: Get the stormwater off the rooftops, sidewalks, and roads – quickly!
Non-Point Pollution
Nitrogen Erosion Mercury Septic System Algal Blooms Water Recharge Acid Rain Overflows Stormwater/ Urban Runoff E-coli Bacteria Sediment Oil Pesticides Lead Copper Dissolved Oxygen Impervious surface Legacy Pollutants Nutrient Overload Loss of SAV Sewage Seepage
What’s the issue? Sediment Nutrients (Nitrogen and phosphorous) • “Dirt. ” Soil loosened by construction, tilling, erosion, etc. • Organic chemical compounds – plants need them to grow. • Contains tons of heavy metals, • Found in fertilizers, manure, nutrients, and other chemical domestic animal waste, sewage, compounds built up over septic systems. decades.
! M O O L B E A G L A
DLGEAAEDBLZOOOMN! A E!
Resource impairment is uniform and ubiquitous.
Phase II WIP Distribution of Existing Stormwater Loads Between Source Sectors Acreage % Nitrogen Load (lbs/year) Anne Arundel Co. Government Land 32, 398 12% 164, 984 15% 19, 042 13% Private Sector Land 170, 749 64% 497, 390 46% 56, 311 39% Federal Owned Land 20, 309 8% 36, 630 3% 4, 930 3% State Owned Land 19, 277 7% 91, 308 9% 13, 041 9% City of Annapolis 4, 533 2% 43, 710 4% 5, 480 4% Agriculture Land 18, 384 7% 243, 878 23% 46, 224 32% 1, 077, 900 100% 157, 324 100% Sector TOTAL 265, 650 100% % Phosphorous Load (lbs/year) %
GOOD NEWS YOU can make a REAL difference!
Rain. Scaping
Learn more… Ben Oaks Rain Barrel Expo Tuesday, March 25 9 a. m. If each of us installed just 55 Gallon Rain Barrel, we could keep 11, 000 gallons of polluted runoff our of the river each time it rains! Learn… • How rain barrels work • If rain barrel will fit on your home • How to obtain and install your barrel.
Need Help? Contact Me! Stacy Steward (410) 444 -7777 steward@wsa. org
Together we can make a difference!
What did I wanted people to KNOW as a result of my presentation? • Stormwater, coming from our properties is the leading cause of pollution in our River. • YOU can make a difference by slowing water down on your own property. • I am a Master Watershed Steward and I can help!
What is the one thing I wanted people to DO as a result of my presentation? • Call me! • Come to my Rain Barrel Workshop • Learn more!
- Slides: 25