Pollution Reduction Projects

About SRA:
The Sassafras River Association is dedicated to promoting and monitoring
clean water, a balance among recreation, wildlife and economic activity,
and an educated community that takes action to protect and restore the
health of the watershed.

Project Funders:

SRA members and donors

Sassafras
River
Watershed
Tidal and
Non-Tidal
Sites

~20 miles long

97 square miles
57% agricultural
24% forest
4% developed

~62,000 acres
1% wetland

14% water

Crawford Treatment Wetlands

Purpose: Capture, slow, and filter stormwater
runoff from a 90-acre watershed with increased
stormwater flow due to the nearby poultry
operation, which created 15 acres of
impermeable surface; and capture and treat
high phosphorus groundwater.
Project: Water flowing off the poultry farm and
surrounding fields is directed into a sediment
pond which captures water, allows sediments to
settle out, and directs the slowed flow of water
into two wetlands to be filtered and released
into the stream. An innovative groundwater
capture system sends phosphorus-rich
groundwater to a third wetland cell for
treatment and release to the stream.
Cost: $359,000 funded by the Chesapeake Bay
Trust and National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
Pollution Reductions (annual): 2,993 lbs of
nitrogen, 863 lbs of phosphorus, and 12 tons of
sediment.

Completed 2014

Jones Family Farm Struvite Reactor

Purpose: Reduce phosphorus from dairy cow
waste to an optimal level for use as fertilizer.

Project: Liquid dairy waste is collected in

lagoons and pumped into a reactor, which
chemically breaks the bonds between the
phosphorus and the calcium in the waste and
binds it instead to magnesium chloride
(struvite crystals) that settle to the bottom of
the reactor. The waste, with up to 60% of
phosphorus removed, is pumped into a
separate low-phosphorus lagoon to be
custom blended and irrigated on the
surrounding crop fields as needed. The
struvite crystals can be removed from the
bottom of the reactor and sold as fertilizer.
Cost: $917,000 funded by the Jones Family
Farm and Chesapeake Bay Trust.
Pollution Reductions (annual): 7,300 lbs of
phosphorus.
Completed 2014

Budds Landing Stream Restoration

Purpose: Stop sediment from being gouged
out of a severely eroded 1400 ft ravine and
carried into Coppin Creek during major storm
events.
Project: A series of stepped pools filled with
a mixture of sand and wood chips were
installed to infiltrate storm water and reduce
energy by forcing it to flow through a
succession of stepped pools. Outer meander
bends of the stream were graded and
stabilized. Stormwater now flows more
slowly, lacks erosive force, and has been
reconnected to the shallow groundwater and
floodplain.
Cost: $225,000 funded by Maryland DNR and
the Chesapeake Bay Trust.
Pollution Reductions (annual): 320 lbs of
nitrogen, 109 lbs of phosphorus, and 21 tons
of sediment.
Completed 2014

Salfner Farm Stream Restoration

Purpose: Restore a 600 ft stretch of
headwaters stream on the Sassafras River that
had been badly degraded due to stormwater
runoff from adjacent State and County
roadways and associated impervious areas.
Project: The design focused on reconnecting
two stream segments and preventing future
erosion of the stream bank by installing
overlapping stone retaining walls and building
up the streambed with riprap to meet the
grade of the upstream box culvert. A series of
cross veins were installed to eliminate future
scouring and gradually raise the stream bed,
promote the settling of larger sediment
particles, and create riffle, pool, and run
habitat for promotion of habitat and
biodiversity. Coir matting and seeding were
installed to stabilize the project, and the site
was planted with native trees and shrubs.
Cost: $90,000 funded by Maryland DNR.

Pollution Reductions (annual): 120 lbs of

nitrogen, 40 lbs of phosphorus, and 93 tons of
sediment.
Completed 2015

Phipps Dairy Farm Treatment Wetland

Purpose: Address the sediment and nutrient
rich runoff from a large dairy and crop facility
within a high-priority sub-watershed.

Project: A multi-cell wetland facility was

designed and sized to hold and treat runoff
from the dairy farm and surrounding crop
fields, as well as contain and treat any
accidental overflow from the manure lagoon.
These wetlands use thick stands of emergent,
native vegetation to take up excess phosphorus,
while a stormwater retention facility at the
head of the system retains and slowly releases
stormwater to ensure an adequate and
consistent flow of water to feed the wetland
system. Gutter systems and drainage practices
were installed on the dairy to direct storm flow
to the wetland cells. A major eroding headcut in
the upper ravine at the outflow of the wetland
was repaired and stabilized using rock step
pools.
Cost: $150,000 funded by Maryland DNR and
Maryland 319 Grant.
Pollution Reductions (annual): 2,285 lbs of
nitrogen, 687 lbs of phosphorus, and 8 tons of
sediment.
Completed 2015

Turners Creek Ravine Restoration

Purpose: Stabilize an eroding ravine in the Turners
Creek Natural Resource Area and treat the stormwater
runoff from surrounding crop fields to remove
nutrients.
Project: An innovative treatment train approach
captures and slowly releases storm water and provides
opportunity for nutrient removal prior to release into
the stream below. Runoff is directed to the site and is
captured in two sediment basins. These rock pools
overflow into an 11,000 square foot, heavily vegetated
treatment wetland cell to allow for nutrient cycling
and removal. Additional phosphorus is removed as
water flows from the wetland into a layer of
chemically treated slag material. After moving
vertically through the slag layer, water slowly seeps
into a 15,900 cubic foot bioretention trench to provide
denitrification and storm flow storage. A perforated
drain pipe at the bottom of the cell captures treated
water and conveys it through a clay berm to exit the
system. A series of rock step pools has been
constructed at the outflow of the project and upper
ravine to stabilize the eroding banks and safely convey
overflow from the wetland system.
Cost: $120,000 from Maryland DNR
Pollution Reductions (annual): 300 lbs of nitrogen, 102
lbs of phosphorus, and 232 tons of sediment
Completed 2016

Hwy 301 Weigh Station Stream Restoration

Purpose: Restore a 1,600 foot stream that had been eroded
from increased stormwater runoff after the construction of
the weigh station on Highway 301, resulting in 30 ft deep cuts
in what once was a natural stream.
Project: A series of rock stepped pools followed by
regenerative bioretention beds slow and infiltrate storm flow,
thereby reducing the erosive energy as it moves downstream.
This creates a cleaner and more docile stream entering the
Sassafras. Additionally, eroded outer meanderbends of the
stream that had become sharp hairpin turns due to the
increased flow of strormwater were relocated and stabilized.
Cross veins and veins were constructed along the stream to
redirect flow to the natural channel in areas where the
stream had been cutting into the surrounding banks and to
maximize riffle, run and pool habitat and biodiversity.
Bioretention measures will also be installed upstream of the
restoration in order to filter and infiltrate excessive
stormwater originating from the highway and weigh station.
Runoff source control measures including concrete swale
removal, bioswales with stepping check dams, rock step
pools, and regenerative bioretention conveyances are
proposed along Route 301 in the median and right of way,
and at the tributary headwater areas.
Cost: $880,000 funded by Maryland DNR, Maryland State
Highway Administration, and the Natural Resource
Conservation Service.
Pollution Reductions (annual): 35 lbs of nitrogen, 465 lbs of
phosphorus, and 105 tons of sediment.
Phase 1 completed 2016

Maryland Subsurface Application of

Manure (SAM) Initiative
Purpose: Utilize new technology to inject manure
below the soil surface, thus minimizing the amount of
soil disturbance and nutrient and sediment runoff into
nearby waterways.
Project: Sassafras River Association, in partnership with
Sustainable Chesapeake, University of Maryland, and
Virginia Tech, is utilizing direct disc injection and
dragline technology to apply liquid dairy and hog
manure onto corn and winter wheat ground in high
priority sub-watersheds. On the Eastern Shore,
injection began on a total of 500 acres in middle and
high-priority watersheds on the Sassafras and Chester
Rivers. Subsurface application of manure technology
maintains maximum crop residue coverage to prevent
soil erosion and loss of phosphorus while putting the
nitrogen fertilizer below the soil surface to minimize
loss from volatilization and surface runoff.

Cost: $300,558 funded by the Chesapeake Bay and

Atlantic Coastal Bays Trust Fund.
Pollution Reductions (annual): 33,568 lbs of nitrogen,
1,522 lbs of phosphorus, and 606 tons of sediment.

Swantown Creek Ravine Restoration

Purpose: Restore 4,100 ft of actively eroded
stream, reconnect the stream with the
floodplain, restore stream function, and
eliminate sediment deposit in Swantown Creek.

Project: A series of grade control log and

boulder weirs will be installed within the two
main stream channels as well as side channels
to reset and stabilize streambed grade. The
streambed within the ravine will be raised to the
grade control structures with sand excavated on
site and top-dressed with a cobble aggregate to
improve macroinvertebrate habitat. Flow from
the upstream farm will be addressed through
installation of shallow infiltration basins at the
head of each stream reach. Smaller rain events
will be captured and infiltrated, while larger
events will pass safely through a primary
spillway control structure. The lower stream will
be restored through relocation of outer
meanderbends, reconnection of the floodplain,
creation of habitat, and stabilization of the
system. The entire site will be stabilized and
planted with native trees and shrubs and
seeded with an appropriate native grass
mixture.
Cost: $1,200,000 from Maryland DNR.
Pollution Reductions (annual): 307 lbs of
nitrogen, 278 lbs of phosphorus, and 31 tons of
sediment.
Design completed 2016; Work to begin 2017

Shorewood Living Shorelines

Purpose: Reduce the erosion of
the toe of the bank along the
residential area to reduce the
heavy sediment deposits currently
plaguing Swantown Creek, while
also creating critical tidal
freshwater habitat.
Project: Living Shorelines are
plantings of native wetland plants,
grass, and shrubs, at various
points along the tidal waterline
that are often coordinated with
carefully placed rock material set
below mean high tide that holds
the shoreline grade and protects
native plantings.
Cost: $75,000 funded by
Chesapeake Bay Trust - design and
permitting only.
Pollution Reductions (annual): Not
yet calculated.
Design completed in 2016

Byerly Farm Treatment Wetlands

Purpose: Convert a 2 acre grass swale area into
a treatment wetland to treat drainage from 274
acres of intensively farmed cropland.
Project: A sediment forebay will be constructed
to protect the wetland system from
sedimentation. A series of stepped treatment
wetland cells will be constructed within the
footprint of the existing grassed swale. The
wetland cells will be lined with Bentomat to
ensure continuous saturation, capped with high
organic content topsoil, and heavily vegetated
with freshwater wetland species to maximize
nutrient removal within the system. Water will
be maintained at a 6 inch depth and will move
between cells through a low earthen weir inset
in the downstream berm of each cell. The flow
from the last wetland cell will enter a
constructed hybrid vertical bioretention cell
capped with a layer of treated slag material. The
water will enter the cell and trickle vertically
through a treated slag layer, then slowly seep
into bioretention mix approximately six feet
deep.
Cost: $362,000 funded by Maryland DNR.

Pollution Reductions (annual): 3,414 lbs of

nitrogen, 173 lbs of phosphorus, and 54 tons of
sediment.
Partners: This project is in partnership with the
Friends of the Bohemia.
Design underway; estimated project completion 2018

Yellow Wetland cell

Orange Hybrid slag filter bioretention cell

Starkey Farm Treatment Wetlands

Purpose: Protect a stream system located below
a 140 acre drainage within a large spinach farm
from intensive storm flow and being overloaded
from sediment runoff caused by intensive
tillage. The farm already has a sediment pond in
place to try to buffer the stream below, but the
amount of sediment runoff has exceeded the
ponds capacity, resulting in damage to the
stream.
Project: An easily maintainable sediment
forebay will be constructed at the head of the
system followed by a series of stepped, lined,
vegetated treatment wetland cells to provide
both nutrient removal and create storage above
the pond. A Faircloth Skimmer will be retrofitted
to the primary spillway in the pond itself to feed
a treated slag filter at the outflow. This will both
create storage in the sediment pond through
continuous drawdown, and promote
phosphorus removal through absorption to the
treated slag material. Three large headcuts
downstream of the pond will be repaired
through installation of 700 ft of regenerative
stormwater-style step pools to maximize
infiltration of runoff to protect the forested
stream and promote groundwater recharge.
Cost: $287,000 funded by Maryland DNR.
Pollution Reductions (annual): 2,307 lbs of
nitrogen, 100 lbs of phosphorus, and 32 tons of
sediment.
Design underway; estimated project completion 2018

Yellow Stepped treatment wetlands

Orange Sediment forebay
Red Regenerative step pools
Pink Bioreactor

Sassafras River Association

Cecil County Restoration Projects
(County, year, area drained, length and depth of erosion)
Wetland Restoration, Crawford Farm now ISE (90 acre
watershed). Cecil County, completed in 2014
Stream Restoration at the Salfner Farm (600 feet of stream),
Cecil County MD. Completed in 2015
Ravine Restoration at Budds Landing (148 acre watershed),
Cecil County MD. Completed in 2014
Ravine Restoration on Highway 301 (454 acre watershed),
Cecil County MD. Phase II ravine onstruction completed in Sept
2016

Investment

Funding Source

TN
annual
pounds

TP
annual
pounds

TSS
annual tons

NFWF & Chesapeake Bay Trust

2993

863

12

MD DNR Trust Fund

120

40

93

359,000

90,000

225,000

MD DNR & Chesapeake Bay Trust

320

109

21

880,000

MD DNR, MD State Hwy Admin, NRCS

35

465

105

362,000

MD DNR

3414

173

54

Total Cost: $

1,916,000

6,882

1,650

285

TN
annual
pounds

TP
annual
pounds

TSS
annual tons

7300

Byerly Dairy Farm - Stepped Treatment Wetlands/ Hybrid

Bioretention/Slag Filter. (274 acre watershed) Cecil County.
Design underway; construction completion target May 2018

Sassafras River Association

Kent County Restoration Projects
(County, year, area drained, length and depth of erosion)

Phosphorous Removal Reactor at the Jones Family Farm,

Kent County MD. Completed in 2014

Total Load Reductions:

Investment

Treatment Wetland at the Phipps Dairy Farm, Kent County

$
MD. Completed in 2015
Treatment Wetland at Turners Creek. Kent County (1500 feet
$
restored stream channel). Completed 2016

100,000

SRA Grant from Chesapeake Bay Trust;

balance from landowner - total cost
$917,000

150,000

MD DNR & MD 319 grant

2285

687

120,000

MD DNR

300

102

232

MD DNR

307

278

31

2307

100

32

Total Load Reductions:

5,199

8,467

303

Total Watershed Load Reductions:

12,081

10,117

588

Swantown Creek Ravine Restoration. Kent County (4,100

linear feet of stream). Designed in 2016, Construction in 2017

1,200,000

Swantown Creek Shoreline Restoration. Kent County.

Designed in 2016. Application for construction in 2017.

75,000

Starkey Farm Project - Stepped Treatment Wetlands/ Hybrid

Bioretention/Slag Filter/Regenerative Conveyance Step
$
Pools. Kent County (140 acre watershed). Design underway;
construction completion May 2018

287,000

Total Kent County Investment: $

1,932,000

Total Watershed Investments: $

Funding Source

3,848,000

Chesapeake Bay Trust - design only

MD DNR

Sassafras River Association

410-275-1400
www.sassafrasriver.org
2016