Storm Water: Problem or Resource Watershed 263 Project

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Storm Water Problem or Resource Watershed 263
Project

• Baltimore City, Maryland

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Baltimores Role in Water Quality for the
Chesapeake Bay

• NPDES Management System
• Storm Water Regulations
• Critical Area Regulation
• Forest Conservation Act
• EPA Consent Decree for Sewer System
  Rehabilitation
• Regional Water Quality Initiatives

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Conventional Stormwater Approaches

• Baltimore City built and sized storm sewer
  infrastructure with upstream watershed impacts in
  mind to accommodate future city growth
• Conventional design worked to achieve goals of
  rapid removal of storm water, avoidance of
  flooding, and central control of run off

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Chesapeake Bay Perspectives

• In 1984, Maryland passed the Chesapeake Bay
  Critical Area Protection Act (19 years ago)
• Our conventional thinking was to recognize the
  hardscape built in the city (over 200 years) as a
  given condition, and
• To encourage protection and restoration of rural
  landscapes and city park areas such as Middle
  Branch on the Patapsco River

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Baltimore Ecosystem Study

• One of the BES research findings is that coastal
  vegetation species along urban riparian areas are
  being replaced by upland species as a result of
  storm water damage to streams and lowering of the
  water table, thus changing ecosystem variables

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Baltimore City Urban Forest
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New Urban Environmental Opportunities

• Our infrastructure goals are changing to include
  ecosystem function, environmental health, and
  quality of life concerns
• Since cumulative impacts of urbanization were not
  fully understood or mitigated, we now have an
  opportunity to fill a technology gap for urban
  retrofit projects

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Collaboration Background

• Partners have worked together for nearly 10 years
  through USFS supported Revitalizing Baltimore
  Project focusing on watershed organizing and
  community forestry
• Baltimore City and County signed a Watershed
  Cooperation Agreement in October 2002 and are
  jointly preparing a Gwynns Falls Watershed
  Management Plan

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Collaboration Background

• Parks People Foundation proposed
  institutionalizing this collaboration through
  creation of a Cooperative Agreement to Congress
• The National Science Foundation support for the
  BES and EPA support for CUERE can provide the
  research foundation for monitoring and evaluating
  the environmental outcomes of our efforts

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Project Description

• Our Vision is to use the watershed management
  approach to revitalize the human (and natural)
  ecosystem by adapting approaches typically used
  in restoring natural stream systems although
  this watershed has no natural stream
• This project is an innovative non-point source
  control initiative to improve the quality of
  storm water discharge in one of 114 outfalls to
  the Baltimore Harbor

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Project Location

• Storm Sewer Watershed 263 is a 900-acre area
  containing part of 12 City neighborhoods defined
  by the storm drain infrastructure with a high
  impervious surface (75) and small area in ground
  cover (19) and tree canopy (5.5)
• The area is home to 30,000 residents and is
  entirely urbanized with mixed industrial,
  institutional, and residential land uses, as well
  as significant, but dispersed public parks and
  private open space (about 30)

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Storm Sewer Watershed 263
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Watershed 263 Bush Street Outfall (25 feet
diameter) ?
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Bush Street River
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Bush Street (looking north west)
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Russell Street (looking toward downtown)
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Project Activity

• The project will apply and test the most
  innovative and cost-effective non-structural
  water quality improvement techniques, focusing on
  greening on vacant lots, parks and school grounds
  and residential and industrial demonstration
  projects
• Community participation will initially focus
  strategies for reducing trash and litter flowing
  to storm sewers, increasing waste recycling, and
  greening through education and stewardship
  activities

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Project Partners

• This model project is a partnership among
  public, private, and community organizations
  including
• Baltimore City Public Works (Water Quality
  Section), School System, Recreation and Parks,
  Housing, Transportation, and Planning
• Baltimore Ecosystem Study, U.S. Forest Service,
  UMBC-CUERE, MD DNR/FS
• Parks People Foundation and REVEAL Baltimore
• Many community-based organizations

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Project Partner Roles

• Public Works plan development and manage
  consultant KCI
• Planning GIS, data management, IKONOS
• Recreation and Parks, Schools, and others plan
  participation and site improvement review
• BES/ USFS / MdFS / CUERE data collection and
  research
• Parks People partner coordination, community
  participation and stewardship training, and
  implement demonstration projects
• Community groupsyouth programs, stewardship and
  sustainability of greening projects

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Project Goals

• Prepare and implement an innovative urban
  watershed management plan
• Implement demonstration projects to improve
  environmental, community health and quality of
  life outcomes and measure effectiveness
• Focus on nonstructural, low impact development
  (LID) techniques to create additional pervious
  surfaces and expand the tree canopy
• Improve resource management outcomes by better
  coordinating existing public expenditures

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Franklin Square ES Childrens Reading Circle
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Standing water at Franklin Square ES
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Participation Objectives

• Strengthen partnerships to sustain watershed
  management efforts and increase data sharing
• Build capacity and create useful planning and
  implementation tools and facilitate
  transferability
• Train community and education leaders about
  watershed management practices to foster
  sustainability and improve the effective use of
  volunteers

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Visioning a Greenway Fulton Street (US Route
1) (looking north)
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Urban Infrastructure and Sanitation
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CONRAIL ROW Wildlife Area
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Education Objectives

• Establish waste recycling and conservation models
  in schools to become Green School certified
• Empower our youth as leaders for positive change
  based youth mentoring, after school education,
  and youth organizations
• Develop workforce skill and leadership programs
  as a fundamental strategy that builds life skills
  and opens up valuable career opportunities

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Research Objectives

• Quantify the effectiveness of best management
  practices to moderate storm flows and pollutant
  loads with three in-pipe water quality monitoring
  stations
• Model and measure result of environmental and
  quality of life outcomes
• Assist people to understand how to apply
  ecosystem knowledge to help revitalize their
  communities

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Relationship to Other Projects

• Schoolyard greening project and water quality
  education by DPW, RP and Living Classrooms
• BES education assessment and KidsGrow enhancement
• Reveal Baltimore pilot neighborhoods
• PPFs Franklin Square community forestry and
  OROSWs vacant lots clean and green
• URI Washington Village Green Career Ladder and
  Sandtown Youth Build
• Baltimore Watershed Forestry Cooperative
• Urban Ecology Collaboration

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Project Resources

• Partners have secured a NFWF Signature grant (EPA
  and USFS funds) and CDBG funds for vacant lots
  restoration
• Parks People has secured demonstration project
  funding as a Congressional Initiative
• City has Critical Area and Storm Water Mitigation
  funds and bond funds
• Reveal Baltimore promises private sector funding
  and partnerships

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Project Schedule

• Planning and initial research will take 12 months
• Demonstration projects will begin on school and
  other sites soon

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Strategies and Approaches

• Changing the function of some public and vacant
  land
• Applying Low Impact Development Technology
• Collection Data and Monitoring
• Supporting desires of residents and helping to
  mobilize a change in community behavior

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Public Land Resources

• 1 regional and 9 neighborhood parks totaling 145
  acres
• 25 small park properties totaling 46 acres
• 11 public school sites totaling 27 acres
• 976 vacant lots owned by the City totaling 67
  acres

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Wilkens Avenue Gateway
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Wilkens Avenue Gateway Soil Condition
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State and Private Land Resources

• Maryland Transit Administration with 21 acres of
  parking lot
• BO Railroad Museum with 25 acres of ROW open
  space
• 12 private industrial landholders with 73 acres
• 2085 private residential vacant lots totaling 134
  acres

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Watershed Management Plan - Components

• Atlas to characterize watershed
• Long-term research and monitoring protocols
• SWMM model and others
• Delineation and strategies for small catchments
• Urban forest and vacant land assessment
• Watershed restoration opportunities
• Priority watershed restoration projects
• Watershed management plan and maintenance strategy

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Watershed CharacterizationData

• Land Use
• Vacant lots
• Zoning
• Impervious Cover
• Storm Drain System

• Soils
• Topography
• Forest Cover
• Water Quality Data
• Water Hydrology Data

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Green Career Ladder Summer 2003 Goals

• Academic Enrichment
• Data Collection
• Research Opportunities
• Career Development

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Green Career Ladder Program

• The Green Career Ladder Program is a pilot
  program started in the Washington Village/
  Pigtown, involving Parks People Foundation and
  the Baltimore Ecosystem Study to provide career
  and educational opportunities to Baltimore City
  youth
• Our goal is to extend this program within every
  neighborhood of Watershed 263

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Academic Enrichment

• Students completed hands-on activities and
  participate in field trips which focus on the
  following 6 topics- trees, soil, water, urban
  wildlife, land use, and beautification
• Each of the 6 weeks is dedicated to one topic

This is so interesting!
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Data Collection and Research Opportunities

• Students collected data on trees, community open
  spaces, and storm drains as part of the Watershed
  263 Project
• Students also conducted individual soil and water
  testing.

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Career development

• Through field trips and presentations, students
  had the opportunity to meet professionals who
  work within the environmental field
• Through these professionals, students were
  exposed to a variety of environmental careers,
  ranging from wildlife biologist to soil scientist

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Beautification Finale

• The students engaged community residents and
  other stewards in a greening project
• Presented recommendations of what public
  officials could do to help our environment

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Next Steps

• Organize project team and prepare MOA
• Begin community inventory and assessment
• Collect base assessment and research data
• Initiate community participation and training
• Begin DPW / KCI plan development process
• Launch project officially with public event with
  Mayor and Congressional leaders

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Presented by

• Guy W. Hager
• Director, Great Parks, Clean Streams and Green
  Communities
• Parks People Foundation
• 410-448-5663 x 101
• guy.hager_at_parksandpeople.org
• www.parksandpeople.org