Glenmont Forest Green Streets Program
Read more about the Glenmont Forest Green Streets plans,
including information on construction and project design,
on the Maryland DEP website.
Green Streets in Glenmont Forest
As a part of Montgomery County’s effort to protect local waterways, the Glenmont Forest neighborhood was selected for a Green Streets project to reduce stormwater pollution flowing into Joseph’s Branch, a tributary to Rock Creek. The community was built in the 1940's and 50’s, before advances in modern stormwater management.
The Glenmont Forest and Wheaton Hills Green Streets project includes over 60 small scale projects that have been identified throughout the neighborhood. The projects planned in the neighborhood include tree boxes, bioretention gardens, and rain gardens. These green infrastructure solutions support the transformation of asphalt into ecosystem!
Reducing stormwater runoff in Glenmont Forest
Why Glenmont Forest?
Park neighbors play an important role in the health of Rock Creek. High volumes of water during heavy rainfalls wash in pollutants, cause stream bank erosion, and other problems that reduce the health of Rock Creek and are harmful to the people, plants, and wildlife in the Rock Creek watershed.
The problem is especially severe in residential areas with a lot of impervious surfaces (including paved roads and sidewalks) where most of the stormwater from neighboring properties and streets ends up in Rock Creek. Heavy rain can carry trash, oil, pet waste, fertilizer, and anything else caught in storm drains into Rock Creek where it impacts the local ecosystems.
One of the simplest ways to reduce stormwater is to install rain barrels, rain gardens, stormwater retrofits, and other forms of green infrastructure that capture the water from roofs of homes. The water can then be dispersed more slowly, rather than all at once which stresses the capacity of our sewer systems.
About Glenmont Forest
Joseph’s Branch is a tributary of Rock Creek.
Glenmont Forest is a residential community located along Georgia Avenue outside of Silver Spring in Montgomery County, Maryland.
Rock Creek runs to the southwest of Glenmont Forest. Tributaries to Rock Creek flow above and below the ground, and reach out to Wheaton Claridge Park. The Joseph’s Branch drainage basin covers most of Glenmont Forest.
Why Stormwater Reduction?
When rain falls on the paved surfaces of a neighborhood it cannot soak into the ground and it flows towards lower elevations over the surface or through storm drains. This water ultimately goes to the closest body of water. Too much runoff negatively impacts the health of Rock Creek, washing in pollutants, causing stream bank erosion and other adverse impacts that reduce the overall health of the stream.
Maryland DEP’s Green Streets project supports community green infrastructure through the installation of neighborhood BMPs (Best Management Practices for stormwater reduction), including bioretention gardens, rain gardens, and tree boxes.
How Can Neighbors Help?
Neighbors can implement different water conservation practices within their properties (or encourage building management to do so) that can help reduce the amount of stormwater that flows into Rock Creek during and after a rainfall.
A simple and cost-effective option for homeowners to manage stormwater is to install a rain barrel that captures the water from the roofs of homes and stores it for future use.
Benefits
Reduce stormwater runoff from your property
Reduce soil erosion
Help improve Rock Creek and Joseph’s Branch’s health
Lower your water bills
You can use the water in the rain barrel for
Watering lawns, garden and house plants
(do not use for drinking or edible gardens)
Cleaning garden equipment
Washing your car
This project is made possible through a partnership with Maryland Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and grant funding awarded through the Chesapeake Bay Trust’s Green Streets, Green Jobs, Green Towns (G3) program, as well as the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Small Watershed Grant program.
