Bowie Commissions Two Stormwater Studies

Bowie officials plan to commission two stormwater-runoff studies this year to determine the amount of runoff in the city and to find way to mitigate the runoff, Bowie’s Public Works Director Jim Henrikson told The Gazette.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency may require a reduction in stormwater runoff that flows into the Chesapeake Bay and other environmental resources. The runoff may carry more water and pollutants than these habitats are able to handle, Henrikson told The Gazette.

Henrikson estimated that upgrades and improvements to the city’s stormwater management could cost the city as much as $40 million.

Bowie Councilman Todd Turner (at large) told The Gazette that depending on the extent of the recommendations from the studies, the city may have to find new ways to fund them.

“We might see a stormwater-management tax or rain barrels brought to homes,” he said in The Gazette.

Read the full story on The Gazette.