Chesapeake Bay Water Quality

Rain barrels and cisterns are collection containers placed at the end of downspouts to collect rooftop runoff and store it for later use.

Bioretention is a stormwater management practice that can achieve water quantity and quality goals through runoff reduction and pollutant removal.

Also known as vegetated roofs, living roofs, or ecoroofs, green roofs are alternative roof surfaces that typically consist of waterproofing and drainage materials, along with an engineered growing media designed to support plant growth.

Tree planting is the practice of planting deciduous or evergreen trees in areas where they will grow and create a leafy canopy that intercepts rainfall and reduces runoff.

Installation of pet waste stations involves providing bags for waste pick-up and a trash can for depositing wastes. Long-term maintenance is critical for the success of a pet waste station. Waste bags should be replaced as needed and the dog waste in the collection bin must be removed at regular intervals and properly disposed of.

Voluntary trash and debris cleanup events can occur in a stream and its surrounding buffer or outside a stream buffer within the greater watershed.

A lawn depression collects and infiltrates stormwater runoff from the surrounding area. It is designed and built similarly to a rain garden or bioretention basin but differs from these practices in that it is often larger, shallower, and planted entirely with turf grasses.

An infiltration trench or basin is a long, narrow, stone-filled trench that collects stormwater and allows for infiltration into the soil, or a constructed depression where runoff and sediment are trapped while water infiltrates the soil.

Shoreline management refers to a variety of practices that reduce shoreline erosion. There is no one-size-fits-all method for managing shorelines, as site-specific plans for stabilizing a shoreline must take into account local geology, wave energy, sea level rise, and historic and current erosion conditions.

The riparian area is the strip of land running parallel to a stream, river, bay, or other waterway. Maintaining this area in a vegetated state that includes a variety of trees, shrubs and grasses creates a buffer that protects the waterway from land use activities.