Sligo Creek Stormwater Management

by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District, in coordination with Prince George’s County, Department of the Environment (DoE), constructed a project to manage stormwater at both Ridgecrest Elementary and César Chávez Dual Spanish Immersion schools. The project began in summer 2016 and wrapped up in fall 2016.

The project included the conversion of two non-functioning bio-retention ponds to submerged gravel wetland sites at both schools, with one additional gravel wetland site at César Chávez.

The projects should alleviate nuisance drainage issues on the school grounds, and in turn should help reduce potential mosquito-breeding areas by reducing the amount of standing water. The projects should also help reduce the stormwater peak runoff amounts that erode natural stream banks and cause sediment and attached nutrients to flow into the Anacostia watershed and Chesapeake Bay.

ARGO Systems LLC, out of Hanover, Maryland, is the prime contractor for the project.

The project construction cost, totaling $298,840, was cost shared using 75 percent funding from the Corps and 25 percent funding from Prince George’s County. The schools will be in charge of maintaining the projects once completed.