[CGC] From the 2/26 Star-Democrat

[Administrator]

Centreville Council approves wetland construction
By TED BOND
Staff Writer
February 26, 2007

 CENTREVILLE - The Town of Centreville has just taken its first concrete 
step in its plan to preserve its portion of the Corsica River Watershed.

"It's an incredible achievement for a town this size and age to be able to 
incorporate such an outstanding water quality measure into their town 
design," Centreville Watershed Manager Chris Clark said.

The council voted 3-0 at its Feb. 15 town meeting to approve roughly $35,000 
in funding to support a joint effort between the town, the Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) and the State Highway Administration to construct a 
wetland for filtering storm water runoff on the north side of town.

"Everything in the town of Centreville is literally a hundred years old, and 
retrofitting issues of the past is not always easy, and to do this in a 
manner that mimics the natural ecosystem is a bonus. I think it should serve 
as a model for all the towns on the Eastern Shore," Clark said.

The wetland would be built on town property alongside the driveway of the 
waste water treatment plant to the west of state Route 213. According to 
Clark, it would cut off a 17-acre section of impervious material, such as 
road, parking lots and rooftops, between Granite Run and Turpins Lane so 
that storm water would no longer drain directly from these surfaces into 
Granite Run. Right now, storm water runs down to a storm water catch basin, 
from which it drains through two pipes directly into Granite Run, taking 
with it any pollutants it has picked up along the way and hence affecting 
the natural health of the Corsica River watershed.

The wetland will provide a natural filter for storm water draining off 
impervious surfaces. Water would be redirected there instead of going right 
into Granite Run. First it will dump into a sediment forebay, where the 
energy of fast-moving water coming off the road will dissipate so it won't 
wipe out the vegetation as it comes through. There, also, larger chunks of 
garbage and sediment will be filtered out.

Water will then meander through the one-third-to-one-half-acre wetland, 
where smaller trash and pollutants will be filtered out by the natural 
Eastern Shore plant life that will be put into the soil. The cleaned water 
will then dump into Granite Run.

Clark said that, in addition to filtering the storm water, this measure will 
allow water heated by the searing roads in summer to cool down before 
shooting into Granite Run and killing everything in its path. It also will 
provide a habitat between the stream and the upland environment, as well as 
the aesthetic benefit of having a variety of plant life growing where there 
is now nothing but grass.

Clark estimates the total cost of the project at around $250,000 to 
$300,000. This will be provided partly through the EPA's grant to clean up 
the watershed and partially through a Transportation Enhancement Project 
(TEP) grant from the State Highway Administration (SHA), which the Maryland 
Department of Transportation has yet to approve.

Centreville has to foot 20 percent of the bill as part of the EPA grant. The 
town has already slated about $30,000 for the design and implementation 
phases, and the $35,000 it approved at the town meeting will be used for the 
actual construction, if the TEP grant is approved.

The EPA will fund the rest of the design costs and a portion of the 
implementation costs, while the TEP grant will fund the rest of 
implementation using whatever is left over from the roughly $150,000 it will 
contribute to the project. SHA has agreed to fund half the costs of the 
entire project, but it has guaranteed that it will fund 80 percent, roughly 
$115,000, of the actual construction costs. Whatever is left over will go 
toward implementation.

This is the first step Centreville has taken to break ground on its portion 
of the Corsica River Watershed restoration effort since Clark took office as 
watershed manager at the beginning of the year, just eight weeks ago.

"It's a good idea. I was really pleased. I was real surprised when he 
presented it - I didn't even know what they were doing at that time. I think 
it's the type of thing we need to do in our community," Council Vice 
President Norman Pinder said.