Frederick Officials Working To Combat Additional Erosion
FREDERICK, Md. (WJZ) -- In the City of Frederick, parks are deliberately located in floodplains. Some incorporate stormwater management to channel the flow of water. But in May, streams that run through parks became overwhelmed by heavy runoff.
Record rains started it, but according to Ginny Brace with Friends of Waterford Park, "The water rises so fast because of all the blacktop and all the development that has gone on for the last 50 years upstream."
Rock Creek rose that way. Normally, it's a quiet stream flowing through Waterford and Baker parks, until a heavy downpour hits.
"The water level goes up the bridges, almost going over. The logs ran into the bridges," said Susan Rausch with the Waterford Homeowners Association.
"I'll bet we lost at least 10 trees because trees were either pulled out or a log rolled over them and took them out," said Peter Brehm with Friends of Baker Park.
Erosion is eating away at the stream's banks, and trees and their roots are what's holding them together.
So what Frederick is going to do is use natural materials, like boulders and buried logs, to slow the flow.
"We're going to add features that will help it meander a bit, kind of slow that water down," says Frederick Sustainability Manager Jenny Willoughby. "Once the project is complete, we'll be putting shrubs and trees back on the banks."
"We're very pleased the city is going to do this project," Brace said. It's a project that will take one to two years to complete.
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