Five Maryland Watersheds Selected for Whole Watershed Act Grant Funding To Support Environmental Restoration and Economic Development

Spread across the state, watershed-scale programs will start next phase of restoration in Maryland, benefitting habitats and local communities

Antietam Creek crossed by Burnside Bridge in Sharpsburg, Washington County. Photo by C. Witt, submitted to the 2020 Maryland Department of Natural Resources Photo Contest.

Maryland has selected the five watersheds in the state that will receive initial state grant funding as part of the Whole Watershed Act. These watershed-scale restoration efforts will contribute to both short-term and lasting economic benefits in the state of Maryland. 

“When we preserve and protect Maryland’s natural treasures, we grow and strengthen Maryland’s economy. Prioritizing these five watershed programs will ensure Maryland agriculture, Maryland tourism, and Maryland businesses remain strong,” said Governor Wes Moore. “Our administration’s environmental protection work isn’t just responsible, it’s strategic – and it’s going to advance our economic growth agenda for the entire state.”

Cleaner waterways bolster tourism in Maryland, which generates about $3.2 billion a year in economic activity. Improved water quality and habitat also benefits Maryland’s seafood industry, which contributes about $600 million to the state’s economy each year. In the selected watersheds, restoration work will contribute to local economic development by making areas more attractive for businesses and creating new opportunities for outdoor recreation.

The state’s interagency management team selected Antietam Creek in Washington County, Baltimore Harbor, Newport Bay near Ocean City, the Severn River in Anne Arundel County, and the Upper Choptank River on the Eastern Shore.

Maryland’s Whole Watershed Act, passed by the Maryland General Assembly in 2024, establishes a collaborative and science-based approach to watershed restoration. The act created a five-year program to target five Maryland watersheds for water quality improvements that best represent the state’s diverse land uses, geographies, and environmental challenges. A watershed is a land area that channels rainfall and snowmelt to creeks, streams, and rivers, and eventually to outflow points such as the Chesapeake Bay or Atlantic Ocean. 

“We are thrilled to announce these five watersheds selected for Whole Watershed Act funding,” Maryland Department of Natural Resources Secretary Josh Kurtz said. “These five watersheds, which span the state of Maryland, will usher in the next phase of Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays restoration. By working closely with local partners and focusing on specific areas, we believe we can more quickly attain statewide clean water goals. This new program will help ensure more residents feel safe swimming in local rivers, boost habitat for fish populations, and improve prospects for businesses that depend on the Chesapeake Bay and the state’s network of rivers and streams.”

The selected watershed teams include partners from community organizations, local governments, private firms, and other groups. The following program sponsors led the proposal process for each team that was selected: 

• Catoctin Land Trust for Antietam Creek; 

• South Baltimore Gateway Partnership for the Baltimore Harbor; 

• Maryland Coastal Bays Program for Newport Bay; 

• Resilience Authority of Annapolis and Anne Arundel County for the Severn River; 

• and ShoreRivers for the Upper Choptank River.

The Whole Watershed Act aligns with the new strategy for Bay restoration in Maryland that focuses on improving shallow waterways such as creeks, streams, and rivers. These are areas where clean water goals for safe, swimmable, and fishable streams and rivers can be met through focused restoration. Cleaner air and water will attract more businesses to restored areas and will provide families with more opportunities to enjoy the outdoors.

Although specific projects are not finalized for funding, the watershed applications lay out varied plans for restoring waterways, uplifting communities, and enhancing habitat areas. For example, the South Baltimore Gateway Partnership, in its Baltimore Harbor application, outlined proposals for constructing wetlands to reduce flood risk and filter stormwater in South Baltimore; restoring shorelines to create new fish habitats on the Patapsco River; increasing waterfront access and spurring economic growth in neighborhoods like Cherry Hill and Gwynn Falls; planting trees and installing beautification projects; and supporting efforts to remove invasive fish. The ongoing and proposed environmental work in South Baltimore is expected to attract new economic development to the area and provide local residents with access to the waterfront for the first time in generations. 

In October, a new $400 million mixed-use residential, retail, and office development — known as One Westport — broke ground on a long-vacant 43-acre site along the Patapsco River waterfront where the environmental restoration work is taking place. The formerly industrial waterfront area sat vacant and inaccessible for years before community, environmental, and business groups partnered together to create a new vision for the future. By selecting this area for Whole Watershed funding, the state is adding more investment to the community’s plan to transform this often-overlooked part of the city into Baltimore’s next great waterfront.

Watershed-scale efforts in other selected areas include proposed trails to connect communities, projects to reduce stormwater flooding affecting homes, tree plantings to improve climate resilience, and new partnerships with agricultural producers to improve conservation efforts on farms.  

Image: Proposed projects on the Upper Choptank River encompasses work on habitat restoration, wastewater improvements, stormwater improvements, and fish passage. The Upper Choptank River watershed is located in predominantly agricultural areas and includes underserved communities and part of Delaware. Specific projects in each watershed have not yet been finalized for funding. Each selected application put forward projects located at various points of the watershed. Credit: ShoreRivers

The Whole Watershed Restoration Partnership’s State Management Team selected the watersheds. The management team includes experts from the Maryland departments of Agriculture, Emergency Management, Environment, Natural Resources, and Planning, along with the Critical Area Commission. 

“The selected recipients represent a comprehensive approach to watershed restoration,” said Maryland Department of Agriculture Secretary Kevin Atticks. “This innovative approach to supporting the Bay and its tributaries adds another tool in the already robust toolbox to improve overall water quality and health. The agricultural sector is excited to be a partner in these projects, as we work to keep farms economically viable while continuing to take strong strides towards reaching our state’s environmental goals.”

Each applicant’s program will receive five years of technical and financial assistance to design and implement conservation and pollution reduction projects. During fiscal year 2026, the five programs will each receive at least $2 million in initial funding that the program sponsors can then leverage to secure matching funds outside of the Whole Watershed program. In the coming months, the management team will be working with each watershed program to identify a prioritized list of projects. The management team will commit additional funding over the five-year time period to support the programs.

 “These critical watersheds are so important to local communities, our ecosystem and our economy,” said Secretary of Environment Serena McIlwain. “Healthy watersheds naturally filter pollution and support plants and fish. They are also beautiful places for us to enjoy and learn about all of the great habitat Maryland has to offer.”

The management team issued a request for proposals in October 2024 and then evaluated the submitted applications based on their plans’ benefits for water quality, increased public access, wildlife habitat, environmental justice, and climate resiliency. The team also weighed the cost-effectiveness of the proposed programs, applicants’ experience, and their ability to match state investment. This program represents a shift from previous restoration efforts, which generally funded individual projects throughout the state based on modeled pollution reductions without a targeted geographic focus.

“Protecting and restoring rivers and streams are essential elements of fostering the ecological health of the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Coastal Bays,” said Maryland Department of Planning Secretary Rebecca L. Flora, AICP.  “The Maryland Department of Planning is committed to sustainable growth that balances Maryland’s economic growth needs with our environmental stewardship responsibilities. It is through these innovative partnerships with other state agencies that we can collectively improve water quality, address environmental justice, and advance climate resiliency throughout Maryland.”

To meet requirements of the law, the selected watersheds include one predominantly urban area (Baltimore Harbor); one in a predominantly suburban area (Severn River); at least two that reduce runoff in a predominantly agricultural area (Antietam Creek, Newport Bay, and Upper Choptank River); and at least one with a collaborative effort with an adjoining state (Antietam Creek’s watershed includes Pennsylvania and the Upper Choptank River’s watershed is partially in Delaware).

With Antietam Creek, the Baltimore Harbor, and the Upper Choptank River, the management team selected three watersheds located within and providing benefit to overburdened or underserved communities.

During the next five years, the State Management Team will oversee the watershed programs to help develop implementation and finance plans and find efficiencies in project permitting and funding. The team will also help measure project results and support monitoring at project sites.

The selection of watersheds starts the process for the management team to identify what it will fund and help develop. The Whole Watershed Fund will not fund every aspect of each application.

The law utilizes existing state funds to create a new Whole Watershed Fund for the program. The Whole Watershed Fund pools resources from multiple state sources, including the Maryland Cost Share Program (MACS), Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation (MALPF), the Bay Restoration Fund, the Clean Water Commerce Act, the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Trust Fund, and the Waterway Improvement Fund.

Proposed agricultural best management practices within each watershed program that are ready to implement will be prioritized within the Maryland Department of Agriculture for cost sharing and receive additional funding based on specific practice eligibility. 

The Whole Watershed Act provides implementation grants for up to 50% of the program cost, and each watershed program has been asked to secure additional funding from other state, federal, local, and private sources.

As required by the Whole Watershed Act, program sponsors will hold four public meetings a year and provide an opportunity for public comment on the preliminary design of each major or large-scale action proposed for the Whole Watershed program.

The State Management Team will hold six meetings a year with each watershed sponsor and participating local governments to review and facilitate progress within each watershed.

The Department of Natural Resources and other state agencies will continue to support other restoration efforts in the watersheds not targeted for this cycle of Whole Watershed Act funding.