Raking the Muck

According to today's Capital, an Anne Arundel Waterway Restoration Alliance has formed to help lobby the State House for funding on dredging projects. According to the president of Alliance, "conditions are so bleak that his community had to cut off a pier that no longer had enough water.... [they] lost about 20 slips to silt." It's certainly time we did something about this, but I hardly think the answer is pouring good money after bad to dredge these creeks only to see them silt up again. No, most of us know what the problem is, it's too much impervious service (e.g., roads, driveways, roofs) funneling sediment right into our waterways, choking them off not only for boats, but for fish and crabs and other wildlife.

Both Delegate John Leopold (R-Pasadena) and Senator John Astle (D-Annapolis) have submitted bills looking to have additional money allocated to the Waterway Improvement Fund, which provides some of the state funding for dredging projects. But, to my mind, before one more dollar is spent on shifting silt, the State/County should get solid commitments from the affected communities that they are going to begin cleaning up their acts. Government may have allowed this problem to worsen, but every person living in the watershed bears some of the responsibility for our current mess, and it's time to start cleaning up.

For information about solutions you can put in place at your home or business, visit the December 11, 2003 entry on living roofs; or the December 1, 2003 entry on stormwater utilities.