{"id":1249,"date":"2014-10-29T14:19:41","date_gmt":"2014-10-29T18:19:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mde\/?p=1249"},"modified":"2014-10-29T14:21:54","modified_gmt":"2014-10-29T18:21:54","slug":"social-media-release-maryland-department-of-the-environment-highlights-best-practices-in-stormwater-management-at-baltimore-community-toolbank","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mde\/2014\/10\/29\/social-media-release-maryland-department-of-the-environment-highlights-best-practices-in-stormwater-management-at-baltimore-community-toolbank\/","title":{"rendered":"**SOCIAL MEDIA RELEASE** Maryland Department of the Environment highlights best practices in stormwater management at Baltimore Community ToolBank"},"content":{"rendered":"
MEDIA CONTACTS:<\/span><\/h5>\n

Jay Apperson
Adrienne Diaczok<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

(410) 537-3003<\/a>
jay.apperson@maryland.gov
<\/a>adrienne.diaczok@maryland.gov<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

**SOCIAL MEDIA RELEASE**\u00a0<\/strong>Maryland Department of the Environment highlights best practices in stormwater management at Baltimore Community ToolBank<\/strong><\/span>
\u00a0<\/p>\n

BALTIMORE, MD (October 29, 2014<\/span><\/span>) \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) Secretary Robert M. Summers kicked off the\u00a0first stop of the Stormwater Innovations Roadshow at\u00a0Baltimore Community\u00a0ToolBank<\/a><\/span>\u00a0today in southwest Baltimore City. Over the next month Secretary Summers will visit stormwater remediation projects throughout Maryland to highlight where government, communities and citizens are working together to find better solutions to managing stormwater runoff in their own backyards.\u00a0To learn more about stormwater and its impact on The Chesapeake Bay, please visit\u00a0MDE\u2019s stormwater 101 webpage<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n

MORE INFORMATION:<\/strong>\u00a0
The Baltimore Community ToolBank offers an inventory of tools – shovels, rakes, drills and more – to help nonprofit organizations, religious and educational institutions, and community groups and their volunteers increase their impact. For pennies on the dollar, the ToolBank offers organizations the ability to borrow tools and other items for events and service projects.<\/p>\n

In 2013, the Baltimore Community ToolBank secured more than $115,000 in funding to enable the design and construction of two critical environmental features at their warehouse facility in the Carroll-Camden Industrial Park. The funding was made possible through the Maryland Department of Natural Resources,\u00a0Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Trust Fund<\/a><\/span>\u00a0and is administered by\u00a0Parks & People Foundation<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n

The first feature, rain gardens, has been constructed and is thriving. The rain gardens repurpose\u00a0rooftop runoff to water a range of local tree and plant varieties. This has multiple environmental benefits, including creation of habitat for local bees and bats and it increases the green canopy in an industrial neighborhood in Baltimore City. All water that is used to fuel plants in the garden will naturally filter into the water table instead of running unfiltered into Baltimore waterways.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Construction is to begin in summer 2015 on the second feature, a \u201cstormwater factory.\u201d \u00a0The factory includes a cistern system to capture over 12,000 gallons of rainwater in the rear of the facility. This will allow staff\u00a0to clean every ToolBank tool with captured rainwater.<\/p>\n

Taken together, these projects will house and repurpose over 400,000 gallons of stormwater runoff from the facility roof every year.\u00a0If left untreated, this rain water would otherwise contribute to urban runoff, polluting the Baltimore Harbor and the Chesapeake Bay.<\/p>\n

CORE FACTS:<\/strong><\/p>\n