Storm Triggers Ellicott City's Stream Debris Removal Program

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — After more than an hour of severe sustained winds blew across Howard County Thursday, the Ellicott City Safe and Sound plan's enhanced stream debris removal was triggered.

"This proactive measure prevents debris from collecting and causing stream blockages. We’re thankful for our EcoWorks team, who was still able to complete these inspections, even with reduced crew sizes due to COVID-19," said Ball in a statement.

Before the Safe and Sound plan was implemented, streams were inspected for debris only on a quarterly basis. The intent of the program is to ensure that certain waterways in the county are inspected on a more regular basis to reduce the risk of debris causing flooding during severe weather events. To date, more than 10 tons of debris have been removed from county waterways.

The enhanced stream debris removal program mandates that 56 inspection points along nine waterways are inspected within three business days any time the county has a rainfall of two inches or greater in a 24-hour period or after an hour of sustained winds more than 30 mph. Crews from Howard EcoWorks and the department of public works then have 14 business days to remove debris.

"After being notified that a Safe and Sound event was triggered, EcoWorks staff hit the ground to conduct inspections,” said Lori Lilly, Howard EcoWorks director. “We divided routes among four people to inspect 56 points and found a range of conditions from no issue, to small amounts of debris to a couple more substantial trees that had come down."

To follow the progress of inspections and debris removal, please visit www.ecsafeandsound.org.