Commissioners hear Mill Creek water quality is better

Wednesday, May 2, 2007

They presented the findings of their study on 2006 water quality to the Calvert County Board of County Commissioners on Tuesday, May 1.

Dissolved oxygen in deeper water, a key measure of the health of an aquatic ecosystem, as well as the rate of algal blooms fell very near the 20-year average, Anderson said.

‘‘Overall this is a very, very average year,” he said.

Heavy rain in 2003 and 2004 was responsible for a decline in water quality, according to Anderson, but the watershed has mainly recovered. Rain washes sediment and nutrients into the water, lowering water clarity.

‘‘The water quality is improving but you have to think of it in the context of 2003 and 2004, which were both very wet years,” Anderson said.

The commissioners unanimously accepted the panel’s recommendations, including continued monitoring of the watershed and support for sewer upgrades, vegetative buffers for streams and croplands and septic pump-out by boaters in the Mill Creek system. The commissioners also unanimously approved $13,201 to fund a similar study of water quality for 2007.

The commissioners also unanimously authorized county staff to begin preparing for an eminent domain action to seize a portion of the Lazarewicz property for the construction of the Southern Connector Road in Lusby, although the county would continue to negotiate with the landowners, documents said.

Details about the property were not immediately available.

The commissioners took steps to distance themselves from the eminent domain procedure, emphasizing that they support property rights.

‘‘It appears that we are at a standstill despite the county’s best efforts. ... It simply hasn’t been successful because the demands [of the landowners] have been over what they would normally be,” said Commissioner Linda Kelley (R).

‘‘This is something we don’t take lightly,” commissioners president Wilson Parran (D) said.

In other business, the commissioners:

* Heard a presentation by the Calvert County Board of Health on preparations for an avian flu pandemic.

* Proclaimed ‘‘Respect for Law Week,” ‘‘National Safe Boating Week,” and ‘‘Historic Preservation Month.”

* Recognized Calvert County’s designation as a national ‘‘Preserve America” community.

* Recognized the winners of the Senior Arts Competition.

* Unanimously decided to leave the intersection of Town Square Drive and H.G. Trueman Road in Lusby with a traffic signal instead of converting it to a two-lane roundabout. Their decision was in line with recommendations by county staff, the State Highway Administration and citizens.

* Unanimously approved actions to acquire land and easements for the extension of Fox Run Boulevard to Chesapeake Boulevard in Prince Frederick. The total cost of the three actions was $220,400, according to board of commissioners documents.

E-mail Erica Mitrano at emitrano@somdnews.com.