Jonestown Community Stormwater Project – Phase 1 and Phase 2

Caroline County, Maryland

RAUCH inc. partnered with ShoreRivers, the Center for Watershed Protection, Caroline County, and Unity on design and construction of a suite of stormwater management practices for the Jonestown community. The predominantly African American community is historically and culturally significant. Established by free African Americans before the Civil War, about 60% of the homes date back 50-100 years with many families living there for generations.

The project area encompasses 110 acres and includes 80 homes, two community churches, and a community park. The scope of work for the project included:

• Creating a basic existing conditions site plan for each property
• Identifying key infrastructure and property boundaries;
• Identifying stormwater drainage patterns on each property site plan;
• Designing green stormwater practices for each property;
• Constructing green stormwater practices on each property; and
• Conceptual design and construction services for improvements to stormwater conveyance systems on adjacent county-owned roads.

Project components include conservation grading/ filling, grass swales, downspout re-directs, rain gardens, and native conservation plantings. The project is in the Hunting Creek Watershed of the Lower Choptank and was funded by the Maryland Department of the Environment 319(h) Program.

The project was coordinated through the Envision the Choptank partnership which includes the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Pickering Creek Audubon Center, Mt. Pleasant Heritage Preservation, University of Maryland Sea Grant Extension, the Chesapeake Multicultural Resource Center, JBO Conservation, and the Jonestown Community Development Corporation.