Learn about large upcoming Columbia stream restoration project

Residents are invited to learn more about a large stream restoration project scheduled for the next few years in the villages of Harper’s Choice, Town Center and Wilde Lake.

The project is being conducted by Columbia Association (CA), the Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA), and SHA’s contractor — Ecotone, Inc. CA’s goal is to reduce the amount of sediment flowing into Wilde Lake and Lake Kittamaqundi. All work is restricted to open space owned by CA.

Three information sessions are scheduled for this September and are open to the public. They will be hosted by the Howard County Watershed Stewards Academy (part of the University of Maryland Extension office), in conjunction with Columbia Association’s Watershed Management Division.

All meetings will start promptly at 7pm. The meeting schedule is:

• Wilde Lake: Thursday, September 13, Slayton House, 10400 Cross Fox Lane
• Harper’s Choice: Monday, September 17, Kahler Hall, 5440 Old Tucker Row
• Town Center: Thursday, September 20, Historic Oakland, 5430 Vantage Point Road

For more information about the public meetings, please email Watershed Stewards Academy Program Coordinator Terry Matthews at trmatt@umd.edu.

In total, approximately 6,691 feet of stream channel will be restored by this project. The project area will include the section of stream that flows under Little Patuxent Parkway to Lake Kittamaqundi. The project will skip over Wilde Lake and the section of stream behind Green Mountain Circle and Faulkner Ridge Circle — that section is partially on Beaverbrook property — and then will start again at Hesperus Drive.

Restoration work will continue on the main section of stream all the way past Eliots Oak Road to Howard County Parks and Recreation property at Cedar Lane Park. Restoration work will also occur on the tributary between Fallriver Row Court and Mystic Court.

The timeline for this project is between two and three years. Planning has already begun, and a design for the project will be available at these meetings. Permitting will include county, state and federal resource agencies and will take six months to a year to accomplish. A construction schedule will not be available until the design has been permitted.

SHA is funding all aspects of this $2.2 million project at no cost to CA in exchange for stream restoration credits that will apply towards the Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System permit that SHA is obligated to meet. Maintenance of the restored stream sections will be SHA’s responsibility.

For more information about the project, please email CA’s Open Space and Facility Services Department at OpenSpace.ResourceRequests@ColumbiaAssociation.org.