Check out the winning projects! Be Bay Friendly
In the Chesapeake Bay watershed, one of the greatest threats to the health of the Bay comes from increased development of the land. Increased development and transformation of the landscape leads to less rainwater soaking into the ground where it is naturally filtered before returning to our streams and rivers. Instead, more water “runs off” our properties and travels along our impervious corridors of driveways and streets picking up pollutants along the way which are then delivered to our streams and ultimately the Chesapeake Bay.
So what can YOU do?
Every parcel of land in the watershed impacts the quality of the Bay including your individual property. You can decrease the impact that your property has on the Bay by reducing the amount of pollutants and stormwater generated from your lot.
The Homeowner Guide For a More Bay-Friendly Property presents a step by step approach for analyzing your property to find out whether it makes sense to install a rain garden or other residential stewardship practices. We then take you through the design and installation of several of the homeowner practices, so that you can install them on your own. Many Bay communities offer technical and financial assistance to help you install stewardship practices on your lot. Check out Appendix D for a list of links to these programs.
Based on feedback from reviewers we have decided to make this an “open-source” document where communities can edit, format, or delete sections to reflect their local needs and requirements. Please feel free to borrow the photos, schematics and tables for your training purposes, although please provide photo credit when indicated. There is a pdf version available for download below. For the adaptable word version, please email Cecilia Lane at watershedgal@hotmail.com.
Also for more information on accounting for for residential BMPs or small, on-lot practices in the Chesapeake Bay head on over to our Crediting Residential BMPs section of our website.
