In 2018, Jacqueline Goodall, the then Executive Director of Maryland Black Mayors, Inc. (MBM), recognized that its mayors and council members needed education on the issues surrounding stormwater management. As a former mayor and Watershed Steward with a passion for grassroots environmental projects, Ms. Goodall understood the challenges of pursuing clean water projects, especially given the competing demands of local elected officials. However, she also knew about the programs and resources available that could help her meaningfully engage MBM members on this topic. One such resource was the MOST Center, a program of the University of Maryland Environmental Finance Center (UMD EFC) aimed at providing local leaders with the tools and resources needed to better communicate about, build and enhance local stormwater programs. With funding support from the Chesapeake Bay Trust, MBM and EFC developed a targeted training curriculum, which included leading a cohort of six municipalities through online MOST Center courses, facilitated biweekly discussion forums, and developed stormwater management action plans for each participating municipality. Participating municipalities included Brentwood, Cheverly, Colmar Manor, Fairmount Heights, Forest Heights, and North Brentwood.

The bi-weekly discussion forums provided an opportunity for MBM and EFC to listen and better understand the complexities of implementing clean water projects at the municipal level. Three takeaways of the conversations included: 1) These small, urban municipalities own little property, and most of the limited property they do own (i.e. municipal building and/or parking lot), has already been retrofitted with green infrastructure. 2) Infrastructure upgrades such as adding new storm drains would take years to complete and require precious time and resources. 3) Residents experience a myriad of stormwater challenges and look to their municipal government for guidance.

These key takeaways led MBM and EFC to the goal of engaging residents to help address their local stormwater challenges. Engaging residents in stewardship activities has the potential to increase the longevity of any project because constituents that do not fully understand the value, function, and role of stormwater best management practices (BMPs) in their communities may not support the investment or long-term maintenance that these projects require.  

To achieve this goal, the project team secured funding from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to install BMPs on the property of five homeowners in each community.  The newly trained municipal leaders were responsible for promoting the opportunity and identifying interested homeowners. The Anacostia Watershed Society (AWS) also came on as a new partner to assist with residential BMP implementation.

Together the project team installed 30 residential BMPs including trees, conservation landscapes, and rain barrels. With each resident the project team met, there was a strong interest in minimizing individual impacts on the surrounding environment. The opportunity to discuss not just this project but the myriad of sustainability opportunities available to them was also welcomed and appreciated. This pilot project demonstrated how local leaders can engage residents to increase the number of environmental advocates as well as on-the-ground implementation of sustainability projects.

*This video was developed to educate new MBM members about stormwater management and encourage them to build on this foundation of engaging residents and providing them with the resources they need to take action for clean water and a safer community.