Appreciation Day

CENTREVILLE — Symphony Village residents thanked those who help fund, design and build the bio-swale in their community at an “appreciation day” on June 30.

A large crowd gathered near the bio-swale, built behind homes on Overture Way. The bio-swale filters and slows down the stormwater runoff. It features stones and rocks and two rain gardens with native plants.

Cass Smith, a resident of Overture Way, recognized those who helped with the project, including Dave Dammeyer, watershed manager for the Town of Centreville; the volunteers in the Corsica River Conservancy; and Denis Radford and Ashley Kidner, who operate International Landscaping & Design, the project contractors; and residents of Symphony Village, who helped put down mulch and haul rocks. Also giving brief remarks were Mark Somerville, a vice president with Caruso Homes, the developer of Symphony Village; John McCoy, ecosystems director with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and coordinator for the Corsica River Watershed Project; and Debbie Pusey, a member of Corsica River Conservancy.

Radford presented photographs to McCoy showing the area before and after the bio-swale was built. Radford presented a copy of the design plan for the bio-swale to Smith. Radford and Kinder were joined by workers in their crew, Fred Sebly, Burns Schaeffer, Ted Heinrich and Richard Coppage.

McCoy recognized Stephan Abel, director of the Chesapeake Bay Recovery Partnership, the organization that applied along with DNR for grants for the bio-swale project. Funding was obtained from the National Fish and Wildlife Federation and the Chesapeake Bay Trust.

Rain gardens are catching on big in Symphony Village and throughout the Corsica River Watershed. Steve Sharkey, a member of the Corsica River Conservancy, said more than 142 rain gardens have been planted in the watershed. A rain garden temporarily stores water after heavy rains, reducing the amount of sediment and pollutants going into streams.
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