The mission of the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is to enhance the quality of life in our community by protecting and improving Montgomery County’s air, water and land in a sustainable way while fostering smart growth, a thriving economy and healthy communities.
The Watershed Restoration Division is dedicated to improving stream health and water quality in Montgomery County, MD.
We accomplish this through our programs.
Below you will find 2019 highlights. We hope you enjoy!
RainScapes Rewards Rebate Program
One Montgomery Green RainScapes Conservation Landscape Garden in Wheaton, MD
The RainScapes Rewards Rebate Program offers rebates to property owners who install RainScapes techniques such as rain gardens, rain barrels, conservation landscaping and other approved projects that help control stormwater. This program is open to properties in Montgomery County outside the municipalities of Rockville, Gaithersburg, and Takoma Park.
Total Square Footage for Projects in 2019:
Conservation Landscaping – 41,426Ft2 Total Project Size
Rain Garden – 1,585 Ft2 Total Project Size
Permeable Pavement – 7,425 Ft2 Total project Size
Thanks to all these projects there are many more native plants out there!!!
In 2019, 466applications were received for RainScapes techniques. Requests for RainScapes Rebates include:
246for conservation landscapes
106for rain gardens
67for permeable pavement replacement projects
27for rain barrels
12for pavement removal
7for cisterns
1 for a green roof
Design and Construction
Falls Reach Pond After construction – stormwater facility
In 2019, 7 capital improvement projects were completed!
Flints Grove Stream Restoration
Greencastle Lakes SWM Pond Retrofit
Fallsreach Stream Restoration
Kemp Mill SWM Pond Retrofit
Fallsreach SWM Pond Retrofit
Flints Grove SWM Pond Retrofit and
Watkins Meadow SWM Pond Retrofit
Fallsreach stream during construction
Fallsreach stream after construction
Stream Monitoring
Water quality monitoring includes:
Assessments of the biological community living in our streams and waterways
Assessments of the structure, flow, and physical condition of the stream itself
Instantaneous water chemistry and testing
In 2019,
112sites were sampled
47species of fish were found
40,760 individual fish were collected
19,792 benthic macroinvertebrates were subsampled
2,420 square feet of benthic habitat were sampled
During the 2019 summer7 interns helped with monitoring efforts, donating more than 900hours of their time!
Summer 2019 stream monitoring interns
Forest and Tree Montgomery
Tree Montgomery is a FREE program to plant shade trees across Montgomery County. Our goal is simple – to plant shade trees and increase our tree canopy to provide a wide array of benefits for you and your community.
In FY19, 531shade trees were planted!
Including at four schools: Judith Resnick, Cedar Grove, Brook Haven, and Herbert Hoover
Including at two libraries: Kensington Park and Connie Morella
Judith Resnick Elementary School – planting trees with students
So far, in FY20
496trees ordered and scheduled to be installed in the spring of 2020
514Tree Montgomery Applications have been processed
357Site Visits have been completed
Stormwater Facility Maintenance Inspections
Permeable pavers being cleaned
Montgomery County uses above and below ground structures (we call them stormwater management facilities) to remove pollutants from the stormwater before the water gets to streams. In Montgomery county there are currently more than 14,000 stormwater facilities.
In 2019, the Stormwater Facility Maintenance Inspection program:
completed 5,073Inspections of stormwater facilities
maintained 4,412facilities
In total, 5,371Facilities were maintained throughout County (DEP and Private)
Program Highlights in the Maintenance Program:
Led extensive Woodrock Pond Emergency Repairs following July 8th flooding
Installed a new Dam monitoring station with camera and continuous monitoring capability at the entry to the Wheaton Regional stormwater pond on Dennis Ave.
Maintained over 2,000highly visible, beautiful environmental site design gardens and green roofs at County public facilities and neighborhood Green Streets.
In 2019, the Division initiated a new stormwater maintenance assistance program for County homeowners to provide technical assistance and streamline applications for water quality protection charge credits
Watershed Outreach
GreenFest, April 2019
GreenFest 2019
GreenFest planning members
With more than 1 million residents calling Montgomery county home, our goal is to engage and motivate Montgomery County residents take actions to improve water quality and to keep our streams healthy.
To help accomplish our goal, in 2019 the Division:
Held 9 cleanups
Worked with 155 volunteers
Collected 11,500 pounds of poop
Installed 25 pet waste station
Painted 7 storm drains
In addition to our programs, the Division hosts and participates in numerous outreach events. In 2019, staff participated in over 80 outreach events
Trainings
Frogwatch classroom training March 2019 and three field trainings from April through June 2019!
Greenfest -April 2019
Chesapeake Bay Awareness week – June 2019
Breewood Celebration in honor of Chesapeake Bay Awareness Week -June 2019
Agricultural fair – August 2019
H2O summit – November 2019
Greenfest planning group
GreenFest Volunteers
Volunteer helping at the Annual Montgomery County Agricultural Fair
Volunteers helping at the Annual Montgomery County Agricultural Fair
Tracey Rouleau, Community Volunteer of the Year. Recognized at the Annual H2O Summit
H2O Summit
Volunteers helping paint storm drain
Volunteers helping at an Earth Day Cleanup
Volunteers helping at a cleanup in October 2019
In 2019, DEP launched a community-based social marking program to help reduce litter in the White Oak neighborhood.
Lift up White Oak – outreach material
Watershed Restoration and Outreach Grants
The Montgomery County Government, through its Department of Environmental Protection, and the Chesapeake Bay Trust announce the fourth year of the Montgomery County Watershed Restoration and Outreach grant program to support watershed restoration and stewardship in Montgomery County. The goal of this program is to reduce stormwater runoff and pollutants entering our waterways through community-based restoration implementation as well as projects focused on public engagement through education, outreach, and stewardship.
In 2019 DEP issued 9 grants for $388,000.
Anacostia Riverkeeper, $30,000: for a gravel swale and conservation landscape plantings at the Tartan Ridge Community in Chevy Chase, Maryland.
Anacostia Riverkeeper, $54,000: for removal of impervious surface, construction of a rain garden, and native tree plantings at Adventist Community Services in Silver Spring, Maryland.
Audubon Naturalist Society of the Central Atlantic States, Inc, $31,180: for developing design plans for stormwater management practices to reduce runoff and pollution to Rock Creek at Woodend Nature Sanctuary
Bethesda Green, $80,000: for conservation landscaping, community outreach, and an innovative cistern automation pilot program at the Glen Waye Gardens Condominium in Silver Spring, Maryland.
Friends of Cabin John Creek, $52,820: for community outreach and stewardship through the Stormwater Solutions Program in the Cabin John Creek Watershed.
Friends of Sligo Creek, $20,000: for a comprehensive stormwater management plan and construction of a demonstration stormwater management project with interpretive signage for the Carolyn Condominium Complex
Little Falls Watershed Alliance, $20,000: for community outreach, the installation of a bioretention project, conservation landscape planting, and drywells in the Sumner Village Condominium Association
Our House Inc., $70,000: for removing invasive pear trees, conservation landscape plantings, tree plantings, and stewardship training at Our House Inc. in Brookeville, Maryland.
University of Maryland, College Park, $30,000: for a targeted stormwater outreach campaign in Montgomery County.
Thank you to all that participated in one of our programs or stopped by to chat with us at one of our outreach events!
We look forward to 2020!
3 comments on "Watershed Restoration Division – 2019 Highlights!"
DEP’s Watershed Restoration and Improvement Program is essential, especially in this time of rising precipitation extreme events, pollutants in residential neighborhoods, and overall losses to surface and subsurface water quality in streams and Chesapeake Bay.
I am interested in several of your programs for my down county neighborhood and surrounds, and elsewhere in the County and region.. I am participating in my neighborhood Civic Association’s UMD’s Outreach ‘Stormwater Team’ Project. I admire the approach of this initiative, but have some concerns about how effectively and accurately it is being implemented by UMD’s Environmental Finance Center. I raised the question of making this UMD stormwater outreach project with Mr. Ortiz at his Public presentation on DEP late last year. He suggested I talk to your stormwater expert staff. Please contact me confidentially about this issue, ASAP.
Sincerely, Joel Teitelbaum, Rosemary Hills, Silver Spring, MD. Tel. 301-589-2340
Happy New Year 2020,
DEP’s Watershed Restoration and Improvement Program is essential, especially in this time of rising precipitation extreme events, pollutants in residential neighborhoods, and overall losses to surface and subsurface water quality in streams and Chesapeake Bay.
I am interested in several of your programs for my down county neighborhood and surrounds, and elsewhere in the County and region.. I am participating in my neighborhood Civic Association’s UMD’s Outreach ‘Stormwater Team’ Project. I admire the approach of this initiative, but have some concerns about how effectively and accurately it is being implemented by UMD’s Environmental Finance Center. I raised the question of making this UMD stormwater outreach project with Mr. Ortiz at his Public presentation on DEP late last year. He suggested I talk to your stormwater expert staff. Please contact me confidentially about this issue, ASAP.
Sincerely, Joel Teitelbaum, Rosemary Hills, Silver Spring, MD. Tel. 301-589-2340
Thank you for your comment. We will be in touch with you.
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