# Presentation: 698644

## Storm Water: Problem or Resource Watershed 263 Project 

- Baltimore City, Maryland

## Slide 2

**Notes:**
Baltimore four Urban Watershed in Baltimore City and County – focus of Parks & People efforts at watershed organizing and restoration efforts

## Slide 3

## Baltimore’s 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**

## Slide 5

**Notes:**
City looking for new image – view of the Inner Harbor – representing access to the Bay

## 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**

## Slide 7

**Notes:**
Graphic showing some of the historical (red lines all grounded now; mostly the main stem remaining; note Jones Falls piped form Falls Road to Inner Harbor outlet) and existing streams (blue lines) as well as historic shore line (green area around harbor); there are 114 storm sewer outfalls to the Harbor

## 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**

## Slide 9

**Notes:**
Critical Area Program panel at the Inner Harbor that expresses the notion that we can not remedy the City’s hard scape area regarding water quality and storm run off given 200 years of development

## 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**

## Baltimore City Urban Forest

**Baltimore City Urban Forest**

## 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**

## 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 **

## 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**

## 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**

## 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%) **

## Storm Sewer Watershed 263

## Watershed 263 

**Watershed 263 **
**Bush Street Outfall **
**(25 feet diameter) ******

## “Bush” Street River

**“****Bush” Street River**

## Bush Street 

**Bush Street **
**(looking north west)**

## Russell Street 

**Russell Street **
**(looking toward downtown)**

## Slide 22

**Notes:**
Baltimore RESCO incinerator operated by Waste-Management; they also operate a fish hachery at this site and release fish into the Middle Branch 

## 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**** **

## 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**

## 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 groups–youth programs, stewardship and sustainability of greening projects**

## 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**

## Franklin Square ES Children’s Reading Circle

**Franklin Square ES Children’s Reading Circle**

**Notes:**
Example of asphalt removal as City school site; more asphalt to remove.

## Standing water at Franklin Square ES

**Standing water at Franklin Square ES**

**Notes:**
At Franklin Square Elementary School showing natural drainage area that could be water infiltration project by removing asphalt and replacing with rain garden. 

## 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 **

## Visioning a Greenway

**Visioning a Greenway**
**Fulton Street (US Route 1)**
**(looking north)**

**Notes:**
Harlem Park CDC envision returning the green median strip that was existing prior to 1951 when the roadway was “improved;” this road way no longer functions as a US route.

## Urban Infrastructure and Sanitation

**Urban Infrastructure and Sanitation**

**Notes:**
Infrastructure failure and culture of trash and disposal of material goods

## CONRAIL ROW Wildlife Area

**CONRAIL ROW Wildlife Area**

**Notes:**
Community groups point to the Conrail ROW as the area of abundant wildlife in the commuity; noted by the scattering of wildlife whenever the railroad clears the vegetation. Community groups and CDCs ask if it is possible to create wetland sites possible at school site for educational purposes and “day lighting” of buried streams to create water amenities.

## 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**

## Slide 34

**Notes:**
Example in the Inner Harbor near Science Center of educational display at research site.

## Slide 35

**Notes:**
Example in the Inner Harbor near Science Center of educational display at research site.

## 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 **

**Notes:**
Our objective is to prove the cost-effectiveness of non-structural restoration treatments for water quality improvement, noting that these treatments will also have other environmental and social outcomes as well.

## Relationship to Other Projects

**Schoolyard greening project and water quality education by DPW, R&P and Living Classrooms**
**BES education assessment and KidsGrow enhancement**
**Reveal Baltimore pilot neighborhoods**
**PPF’s Franklin Square community forestry and OROSW’s vacant lots clean and green**
**URI Washington Village Green Career Ladder and Sandtown Youth Build**
**Baltimore Watershed Forestry Cooperative**
**Urban Ecology Collaboration**

**Notes:**
REVEAL Baltimore is a private sector initiative focused on neighborhood sanitation, beautification, and youth development. Heinz Center ecosystem indicators projects seeing a regional area beta test of the indicator system. UEC is a collaboration of like organizations from major cities from Boston to Washington, DC focused on tools for urban ecology restoration.

## 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**

## Project Schedule

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

**Notes:**
View the project as one year for planning with some demonstration projects undertaken immediately and then 5 – 7 years of implementation of the watershed plan.

## 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**

## 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**** **

## Wilkens Avenue Gateway

**Wilkens Avenue Gateway**

**Notes:**
Failed recent City Gateway project. Poor design (community wanted water infiltration and not mounts to prevent pedestrians form crossing the street. Contractor placed vegetation incorrectly that the City inspector did not note. Change occurred when P&P community member pointed out problem. 

## Wilkens Avenue Gateway

**Wilkens Avenue Gateway**
**Soil Condition**

**Notes:**
Soil conditions like this will not allow vegetation growth, even if watered. Does this meet city specs and design plan?

## State and Private Land Resources

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

## Slide 45

**Notes:**
Opportunity to work with industrial property owners and Baltimore Development Corporation to upgrade the physical appearance of the industrial park through greening and water quality projects

## Slide 46

**Notes:**
Whaling installation in Carroll-Camden Industrial Park

## 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**

## Watershed CharacterizationData

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

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

## Green Career Ladder Summer 2003 Goals

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

## 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**

## Slide 51

**Notes:**
Urban Resources Initiative Green Career Ladder college and high/middle school student participants and P&P staff members in Watershed 263.

## 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!

## Slide 53

**Notes:**
URI college intern instructing on tree identification using hand held computer and tree key as tools of green infrastructure survey of Watershed 263.

## 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.**

## 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**

## 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**

## 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**

## Presented by 

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