Storm Drains

A new movement is sweeping gutters across America. It is storm drain stenciling: Not exactly art, but more than just gutter-dressing.The message varies, but all messages are blunt. The stencils on my Seattle neighborhood gutters gracefully bracket the drain grate. "DUMP NO WASTE, DRAINS TO LAKE" they announce flatly. The silhouette of a fish (a guttersnipe? I know, I know. It's a salmon, of course) further adorns the drain.Every day, thousands of Americans -- lazy or ignorant -- pour icky stuff down storm drains.

A baby fox rescued Tuesday night from a storm drain in Edgewood by a well-meaning group of Harford County firefighters was later euthanized so it could be tested for rabies — though the disease was not ultimately found. The decision — which was met with disappointment from the volunteer firefighters — was made out of fear that handling the abandoned pup during and after the rescue may have exposed the men to the deadly viral disease, even though none of them were bitten or scratched, the Harford County Health Department said.

A flammable chemical that mysteriously appeared in Inner Harbor sewers - and may have been the cause of a manhole cover explosion Aug. 11 - came from the CSX Corp. train that derailed and caught fire three weeks earlier, the state said yesterday. An independent laboratory has confirmed that the tripropylene found in underground storm drains matched that carried in one tanker of the 60-car freight train that derailed under Howard Street on July 18, according to the Department of the Environment.

If you've ever heard a baby fox screaming for its mother on a dark spring night - foxes can sound eerily human - you'll know why a team of volunteer firefighters in Harford County was alerted to the howls of a desperate pup trapped in a storm drain in Edgewood late Tuesday. But thanks to the yipping plea for help, the furry redhead ended up getting a ride in a fire truck and spending the night with a bunch of firefighters at the Joppa-Magnolia Volunteer Fire Station. The firefighters are "tasked with protecting lives, not just human," the station said in a news release.

THE PROBLEM: A West Baltimore storm drain is clogged. THE BACKSTORY: It's a sight you might only expect to see in Baltimore. In the 1400 block of Myrtle Ave., where it intersects with West Lafayette Street, several loops of crime scene tape trail from a street light pole into a storm drain blocked by trash. Crews from the Department of Public Works' Bureau of Water and Wastewater clean as many of the city's 33,000 storm drains as they can, but this falls squarely within homeowner or tenant responsibility, said spokesman Kurt Kocher.

The search for Joseph C. Palczynski focused yesterday on storm drains and wooded terrain in eastern Baltimore County, where police discovered clothing and bedding they say might have belonged to the fugitive. Palczynski eluded police for the sixth day, despite a search that involved a robot working underground, 20 dogs and dozens of officers who combed miles of parklands. County tactical officers brought in the robot about 6 p.m. yesterday to search a storm drain that begins near Eastern Boulevard and runs several hundred yards underground toward Carroll Island Road.

Courtney Barrett says he became interested in cleaning up his west Baltimore neighborhood after watching a news report about the large amounts of trash that end up in the Chesapeake Bay because people illegally throw waste into storm drains."

Public works officials in the region are urging residents to remove snow from flat roofs and make sure storm drains are clear of debris. The warnings were issued in advance of possible heavy rain predicted for later this week. Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold told residents that accumulated snow and heavy rain could cause roofs to collapse. Baltimore Public Works Director David Scott asked residents to clear storm drains in their neighborhoods to prevent flooding in streets and basements.

RECENT, HUGE STORMS that swamped drainage systems in Baltimore and elsewhere illustrated two truths:Flooding can occur even in the midst of a drought.And storm drains aren't a good place to grow trees.Baltimore has more than 33,000 storm drains -- known as scuppers -- feeding into 1,000 miles of underground pipes. The city has 10 crews -- of four people each -- assigned to ensure the system is clear, according to the city's public works department. These crews are supposed to clean each scupper twice a year.

Baltimore County police, firefighters and state environmental officials went door-to-door early today in the Hillendale neighborhood to warn residents about dangerous fumes after more than 4,000 gallons of gasoline leaked from an underground gas station tank at Loch Raven Boulevard and Taylor Avenue.Police said the leaking fuel was traced to the Pleasant Plains Amoco station about 12: 48 a.m., and police were dispatched to the scene to detour traffic and assist in warning residents.Police said none of the leaking fuel found its way onto the street, but that an unknown amount apparently found its way into storm drains under the street.

A move to delay controversial new fees to help clean up the Chesapeake Bay failed Monday night, when a Senate-passed measure to postpone the stormwater charges didn't get a vote in the House of Delegates. Earlier Monday evening, the Maryland Senate voted overwhelmingly, 34-13, for a two-year moratorium on collection of stormwater pollution fees in Baltimore City and seven of the state's largest counties. But in an 11th hour session, the House Environmental Matters Committee did not take up the bill.

Speaking from the city's Emergency Operations Center, which went into operation at 7 a.m. Sunday, Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake urged residents to get ready now for Hurricane Sandy. The monster storm is expected to barrel into Maryland early Monday morning, with gale force winds arriving later Sunday. "Prepare your property. Clear all storm drains. Check on your elderly relatives and neighbors and make sure that they are prepared," Rawlings-Blake said. "This is absolutely important.

Decades after first discovering the problem, state officials have settled on a $27 million plan to keep a cancer-causing chemical in the ground at the Dundalk Marine Terminal from seeping into the Patapsco River and blowing into nearby residential areas. Under the plan, Honeywell International Inc. and the Maryland Port Administration jointly pledged to re-line leaky storm drains beneath the state-owned shipping facility, which have run yellow at times with chromium-tainted water. They also vowed to see that pavement covering the contaminated soil remains intact so it can't become airborne.

Facing federal and state mandates to reduce pollution washing off its streets and alleys, Baltimore city is taking the first step toward imposing a fee on residents or property owners to pay for controlling its tainted storm-water runoff. City Council President Bernard C. "Jack" Youngintroduced a resolution Monday night calling for a charter amendment to create a "stormwater utility" for Baltimore. It's slated for a hearing June 12 before the council's judiciary and legislative investigations committee, chaired byCouncilmanJames B. Kraft.

With a Canton warehouse fire reduced to a smolder by Monday morning, attention shifted to ensuring that surrounding homes and the harbor's waters are protected from caustic chemicals inside the facility. State and federal environmental officials were on the site alongside firefighters into Monday evening, monitoring water streaming from the one-story brick structure into storm drains. The warehouse contains nearly 8,000 gallons of corrosive chemicals, according to the Maryland Department of the Environment.

Last month, there was a deluge of stories in The Baltimore Sun about cleaning up two of our region's most consistently polluted attractions: the Chesapeake Bay and Baltimore's Inner Harbor. Of course, the health of these two water bodies is inexorably linked - and not just to each other, but also to the health of our communities. When it rains, pollution and litter on our lawns and in our streets gets flushed into storm drains that empty into our streams, our harbor, and ultimately the bay. The Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore has just released the Healthy Harbor Plan to make our harbor safe for swimming and fishing by 2020.

VISITORS may have been offended by the flotsam in the Inner Harbor after Thursday's monsoon-like rain, but trash thrown down storm drains or lying in gutters in the Jones Falls watershed will invariably make its way to the harbor.There is no argument that all this debris was an unsightly mess. Although the Styrofoam cups, plastic soda bottles and fast-food wrappers were most noticeable, natural debris -- trees, branches, stumps and bushes -- were the largest component by weight.Even with the best storm water management system, there is little that can be done to prevent this type of debris from flowing into the Inner Harbor.

W ith frozen ground, and plenty of snow and ice left over from last weekend's snowstorm, the "wintry mix" and rain forecast for Friday and Saturday could combine to produce a lot of melting and runoff in the next few days. Forecasters warn that the surge of water could lead to flooding . Check today to be sure the storm drains around your home are clear of any snow, ice and debris that could cause runoff to back up. There's nothing like the gurgle of free-flowing gutters and drains.

Heavy rains routinely trigger big sewage overflows in Baltimore, but there is growing evidence that chronic leaks from the region's aging, cracked sewer lines are a bigger threat to public health. Though storm-fed spills can be dramatic, Baltimore's' streams and harbor are also fouled on sunny days as storm drains yield grayish discharges that look and smell like sewage. That is what they are. Even the nearly $2 billion overhaul under way on the 3,100 miles of sewer lines in the city and Baltimore County won't be enough to make those waters safe, experts and activists say. Leaks allow raw sewage to seep into storm drain pipes, which funnel rain from streets, parking lots and buildings into nearby waterways.

Around 1,000 gallons of corn syrup escaped from a South Baltimore storage tank Friday night, and 300 gallons of the sticky substance wound up in the Inner Harbor before a leaking valve was plugged, fire officials say. The leak occurred at Westway Feed Products in Locust Point, said fire operation aide Kris Floyd. Fire officials originally reported the location as the nearby Domino Sugar factory. By 10:30 p.m. Friday, firefighters had set up blockades on Hull Street to keep the syrup from reaching storm drains, Cartwright said Friday night.