July 31, 2019

Health Department Ribbon Cutting

Arundel Rivers Federation celebrated the completion of Phase 1 of our restoration project at Anne Arundel County Health Department with a ribbon cutting.  The Federation was joined by our partners including Bill Anderson, Assistant Secretary for Aquatic Resources for MD Department of Natural Resources; Jana Davis, Executive Director for the Chesapeake Bay Trust; Erik Michelsen, Administrator for Anne Arundel County Watershed Protection and Restoration Program; Matthew Johnston, Environmental Policy Director for Anne Arundel County; and the Chesapeake Bay Roasting Company who provided their delicious coffee to all attendees.

The Federation stabilized a 952 linear foot stormwater driven gully that flows to the East Branch of Broad Creek.  The channel was highly unstable, leading to excessive delivery of sediment downstream during even minor storm events. By stabilizing the gully and constructing additional upslope stormwater retention and infiltration devices in the parking lots, the Federation stopped a significant source of sediment and nonpoint source pollution from entering Broad Creek.

The site is in the headwaters of Broad Creek, which along with Church Creek represents the strategic focus of the Federation for the purposes of key habitat improvement and erosion/sediment reduction. The 2008 South River Watershed Assessment ranked Broad Creek as the second highest contributor of sediment and nutrient loads to the South River.

The Federation was awarded two grants to complete this project: one from a partnership between the Chesapeake Bay Trust and Anne Arundel County’s Watershed Protection & Restoration Program and one from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. Native plantings are working to achieve new habitat zones to support a variety of bay flora and fauna. The project was completed by Resource Restoration Group in 2018.

For more information on our restoration projects, click here.