Current Conditions

Underneath this lawn, a stormwater pipe that leads to Beards Creek is failing, resulting in sinkholes on the surface and sediment plumes after rain events.

Arundel Rivers, in partnership with the Southdown Shores community, is daylighting a failing stormwater pipe that channels stormwater from the community into Beards Creek. After large rain events, a plume of sediment could be seen entering Beards Creek at the community marina, alerting the Southdown Shores community that there was a problem. Arundel Rivers quickly determined that the pipe meant to direct stormwater into the river was failing, causing a notable amount of sediment to regularly wash into the water as well as sink holes in the ground above the pipe.

Daylighting a pipe quite simply means to bring a pipe’s contents into the daylight! The pipe will be removed and in its place a series of step pools will be constructed. Stormwater will be forced to slow down, passing through each pool and filtering pollutants (such as sediment, excess nutrients, and litter) before the water reaches the river. Each pool will serve as valuable habitat for the community’s wildlife neighbors, like frogs, turtles, birds, and pollinators.

Proposed Conditions

Photos from Arundel Rivers Federation's completed project at St. Mark UMC in Hanover, MD, where a pipe was daylighted and replaced with a step pool system.

This project has been funded wholly or in part by the United States Environmental Protection Agency under assistance agreement C296389001 to Maryland Department of Natural Resources and/or C2-95306601-0 to Maryland Department of Environment. The contents of this document do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Environmental Protection Agency, nor does the EPA endorse trade names or recommend the use of commercial products mentioned in this document.