WASHINGTON — At a time when Montgomery County, Maryland health officials are urging residents to fight the Zika virus by eliminating standing water on their properties, one woman wants to know why she’s seeing what looks like small ponds pop up in some neighborhoods.
Joan Beerweiler of Aspen Hill went to a news conference to confront county officials about the installation of hundreds of storm water control devices in Wheaton Woods and Manor Woods.
“Why is the county building hundreds of drainage ponds in front of people’s front yards when it’s so important not to have standing water?” she asked.
Lisa Felt, the director of the Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection, said that the devices (she calls them “bioretention facilities” or “bioswales”) are part of the Green Streets program. The devices, placed in the right of way between neighborhood streets and sidewalks, have been used in the county for years as a way to control storm water runoff.
Steven Shofar, watershed management operations division chief of the Department of Environmental Protection, said that the devices help remove contaminants from storm water runoff, and that protects the region’s watershed. He did say water will pool in the bioswales for up to 48 hours.
“That’s not enough time for mosquitoes to breed,” Shofar said.
This isn’t the first time residents have complained about the installation of the storm water controls. The concern about mosquitoes control isn’t new either — when the county was first fighting West Nile virus, the issue came up, but again, county officials say the bioswales drain faster than mosquitoes can breed. It’s not always a health concern that drives opposition, said Shofar.
“Some people just don’t like them—they just don’t.”
