Stormwater Forum 2023

Forum Overview

Title: The Stormwater Management and Climate Change Forum

Date: June 22, 2023

Location: University of Maryland the School of Architecture College Park, Maryland

Dr. David Merkey - Restoration Ecologist with GreenVest
Title: The Integration of Stormwater Management, Ecological Uplift, and Resiliency
Summary - Dr Merkey covers the pre-colonial landscape of North America and the remarkable role of beavers in maintaining it by damming off tributary streams to the major watersheds of the continent. As beavers were destroyed for their pelts, their damming activities diminished, leading to stream erosion and other destructive changes to the watersheds and have increased to this day. Dr. Merkey describes the complexity and varieties of life impacted by these changes; a complexity largely ignored by the engineering-based efforts to control the erosion of streams. He calls for closer attention to the species of plants and animals inhabiting streams as efforts to limit the continuing and increasing damage continue. He also notes the difficulty with retrofitting older Stormwater Management systems in urban and suburban systems both from a technical and financial perspective.
Slide Presentation

Ken Bawer - Certified Maryland Naturalist
Title: Stormwater Control using Stream “Restoration”
Summary - Mr Bawer shows images of ‘Stream Restoration’ projects, which he has collected from several communities in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C. He argues that these projects, which he describes as using engineering measures to physically relocate streams, causes more damage than improvement, are not appropriately called ‘restoration’ projects, and are highly expensive. He cites several examples of severely eroded streams post project. He points out and describes many lower impact measures, including pervious paving, rain gardens, bioretention, water barrels, on site water retention and timed release which can provide smaller scale, lower cost solutions.
Slide Presentation

Dr. Erin Fisher - VP of Business Development for Ernest Maier
Title: Sustainability, More Than Just CO2
Summary - Dr Fisher argues for the necessity of going beyond the confines of stream beds and Stormwater management systems themselves if true sustainability is to be achieved. He describes the benefits of one such practical tool for reducing high quantity water flows into streams and Stormwater management systems, permeable paving in the form of PaveDrain, interlocking concrete block pavers which permit the passage of water. He cites several successful installations in the area including College Park.
Slide Presentation

Prince George's Group