Storm Water Forum to be held in Maryland

A community forum, “Storm water: an Unnatural Disaster,” will be held on Sunday, Sept. 25, 2005 at Smithsonian Environmental Research Center Philip D Reed Center for Education from 1-4 p.m.

“The purpose of the forum is to help the public understand why storm water is a problem, the magnitude of the problem, and what it will take to solve it.” said Joan Turek, board chairman of South County Exchange, one of the community forum sponsors. Other sponsors of the forum are South River Federation, Chesapeake Environmental Protection Association (CEPA), the Alliance for Sustainable Communities and Maryland Aquatic Resources Coalition.

The Forum will be moderated by County Councilman Ed Reilly and will feature two major speakers as well as community representatives presenting different personal perspectives on storm water. Exhibits by different community groups and consultants will show local conditions caused by storm water and potential solutions.

Ron Bowen, director, Department of Public Works, Anne Arundel County will describe the critical storm water problems in the county, what his department is doing to address them and what additional efforts will be required.

Phil Davenport will make a presentation on Virginia Beach’s experience in dealing with the storm water problem by creating a Storm water Utility. Phil is Business Manager for Virginia Beach and has been responsible for the program since it was started in 1993.

“The first step toward solving any problem is understanding it," said Jerry Hill, CEPA Board member, “and this forum will give us an understanding of how storm water affects our quality of life.”

Kincey Potter, president of the South River Federation added, “Storm water is the major source of pollution for our creeks and rivers. People need to understand that we can’t cleanup the waterways in this community until we do something about storm water.”

Directions From Central Avenue in Edgewater, Maryland:

Follow Central Ave. (Md. 214) east to stoplight at Md. 468 (Muddy Creek Road). Turn right (south). Proceed about 1 mile, then turn left (east) at the SERC sign on the corner of Contees Wharf Road Proceed 0.8 mile on gravel road to SERC sign, turn right onto paved road After you pass the gate, take an immediate left after the gate and proceed 1/3 mile down Dock Road. The Education Center facility and parking will be on the right.

Source: South River Federation