|
Runoff from construction sites and development is the fastest growing threat to the Chesapeake Bay. This stormwater runoff is also the most expensive source of pollution to address. Once a house is built or a parking lot is paved, it is nearly impossible to reverse its impact on the watershed.
Planning for smart development
Environment Maryland, working with the Waterkeeper Alliance, is making stormwater runoff a top priority this winter.
Developers should make every effort both during construction and post-development to keep the natural hydrology intact. They should take steps to disturb less earth while building, reduce the footprint of the development, and leave intact as much of the existing natural vegetation as possible.
Instead, developers look first at what they want to build on a site, and then they try to install enough ponds or other basic controls to capture the runoff that the new development creates. Reversing this process is the first step to curbing runoff pollution.
In January, Environment Maryland crafted legislation that would require the Maryland Department of the Environment to change how they regulate stormwater.
The bill sets new permit requirements for stormwater runoff, limiting how much runoff is allowed from any given site. Developers must reduce the runoff created by the site, and install mechanisms to capture the runoff that is made. Developers must include planning for runoff both during and post construction.
As Maryland continues to grow we will have to dramatically rethink the ways we build. We can no longer afford to build homes that channel stormwater into ponds or streams. We must start building in ways that limit impacts on the land.
|
