Schuh says street sweeping aids water goals
County residents can expect to see more street sweeping in their communities beginning this summer as part of an effort to reduce the trash and debris making its way into county’s waterways and help meet a federally mandated water quality improvement goal looming in two years.
County Executive Steve Schuh’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2018 includes a 40 percent increase in funding for street sweeping countywide — raising the amount spent on the program from $280,000 to $390,000 a year, according to spokesman Owen McEvoy.
Money from the county’s watershed protection and restoration program fee, dubbed a “rain tax” by critics,will be used to support the expanded program.
Sweeping is “something we’ve been doing a long time, but not very efficiently or effectively,” said Chris Phipps, director of the county’s Department of Public Works.
Officials say increasing the frequency that the trucks circulate and expanding their routes is an effective way of treating our waterways while also improving aesthetics.
Under the county’s plan to expand the program, contractors will be able to sweep 131 miles of Anne Arundel’s 134 miles of high-traffic arterial roadways. Street sweepers will also cover all 227 miles of county collector roads, which connect local streets to arterials. Officials predict street sweepers will cover 7,300 acres of road in a year.
Streets will be swept twice a month, Schuh said. Industrial and commercial areas will still be swept at night, while sweeping crews will visit residential areas during the day, a change from the current system.
“A very important component of good quality of life is an effective, well-built, efficient and safe transportation system,”
Schuh said Wednesday during a news conference in Maryland City. “We don’t often think about the little things like keeping roads tidy.”
Increasing the frequency of street sweeping is key to ensuring it counts towards watershed remediation goals that the county must meet by 2019, according to stormwater remediation administrator Erik Michelsen.
To receive its next stormwater permit from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the county is required to improve 20 percent of the 29,311 acres of impervious surfaces within its boundaries — a little less than 5,900 acres.
In order for the county to earn acreage credits for street sweeping, crews have to sweep streets at least twice a month.
So far, Michelsen said, the county has improved 1,755 acres through watershed remediation projects, which also include stormwater pond retrofitting and stream and wetland restoration. More street sweeping will add nearly 50 acres to that total, according to Phipps.
Sweeping costs less than other methods of meeting water quality goals. While most projects cost between $35,000 and $50,000 per acre remediated, street sweeping costs about $15,000 per acre, Phipps said.
But because sweeping only temporarily clears streets of debris, it is a recurring cost.
Schuh said he plans to keep funding for the program steady in future budget years.
Environmentalists cautioned that street sweeping is not a lasting solution to improving water quality, though it helps reduce pollution in the short term.
“You’re really not getting at the root of the problem at all,” said Tom Zolper, a spokesman for the nonprofit Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
Street sweeping does a good job of preventing trash from reaching the bay and helps to rid storm drains of leaves and organic matter that can cause nitrogen and sediment pollution, Zolper said.
But it’s not the equivalent of a more targeted stormwater remediation project, he added.
“It doesn’t improve the water quality of your local stream like a permanent project — a stream restoration or, better yet, something upriver that’s reducing the pollution at its source,” Zolper said.
Michelsen said the higher street sweeping budget was a supplement to other watershed remediation projects, and would not drain money from more permanent efforts.
“We decided there was an opportunity to do more,” he said.
The County Council is considering Schuh’s budget proposal. A vote on the final budget is scheduled for June 14. ayeager@capgaznews.com
County Executive Steve Schuh’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2018 includes a 40 percent increase in funding for street sweeping countywide — raising the amount spent on the program from $280,000 to $390,000 a year, according to spokesman Owen McEvoy.
Money from the county’s watershed protection and restoration program fee, dubbed a “rain tax” by critics,will be used to support the expanded program.
Sweeping is “something we’ve been doing a long time, but not very efficiently or effectively,” said Chris Phipps, director of the county’s Department of Public Works.
Officials say increasing the frequency that the trucks circulate and expanding their routes is an effective way of treating our waterways while also improving aesthetics.
Under the county’s plan to expand the program, contractors will be able to sweep 131 miles of Anne Arundel’s 134 miles of high-traffic arterial roadways. Street sweepers will also cover all 227 miles of county collector roads, which connect local streets to arterials. Officials predict street sweepers will cover 7,300 acres of road in a year.
Streets will be swept twice a month, Schuh said. Industrial and commercial areas will still be swept at night, while sweeping crews will visit residential areas during the day, a change from the current system.
“A very important component of good quality of life is an effective, well-built, efficient and safe transportation system,”
Schuh said Wednesday during a news conference in Maryland City. “We don’t often think about the little things like keeping roads tidy.”
Increasing the frequency of street sweeping is key to ensuring it counts towards watershed remediation goals that the county must meet by 2019, according to stormwater remediation administrator Erik Michelsen.
To receive its next stormwater permit from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the county is required to improve 20 percent of the 29,311 acres of impervious surfaces within its boundaries — a little less than 5,900 acres.
In order for the county to earn acreage credits for street sweeping, crews have to sweep streets at least twice a month.
So far, Michelsen said, the county has improved 1,755 acres through watershed remediation projects, which also include stormwater pond retrofitting and stream and wetland restoration. More street sweeping will add nearly 50 acres to that total, according to Phipps.
Sweeping costs less than other methods of meeting water quality goals. While most projects cost between $35,000 and $50,000 per acre remediated, street sweeping costs about $15,000 per acre, Phipps said.
But because sweeping only temporarily clears streets of debris, it is a recurring cost.
Schuh said he plans to keep funding for the program steady in future budget years.
Environmentalists cautioned that street sweeping is not a lasting solution to improving water quality, though it helps reduce pollution in the short term.
“You’re really not getting at the root of the problem at all,” said Tom Zolper, a spokesman for the nonprofit Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
Street sweeping does a good job of preventing trash from reaching the bay and helps to rid storm drains of leaves and organic matter that can cause nitrogen and sediment pollution, Zolper said.
But it’s not the equivalent of a more targeted stormwater remediation project, he added.
“It doesn’t improve the water quality of your local stream like a permanent project — a stream restoration or, better yet, something upriver that’s reducing the pollution at its source,” Zolper said.
Michelsen said the higher street sweeping budget was a supplement to other watershed remediation projects, and would not drain money from more permanent efforts.
“We decided there was an opportunity to do more,” he said.
The County Council is considering Schuh’s budget proposal. A vote on the final budget is scheduled for June 14. ayeager@capgaznews.com
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