Ecological Assessment and Evaluation

The Ecological Assessment and Evaluation (EAE) Program is responsible for the administration of the County’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System -- Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (NPDES-MS4) Permit, the County’s Biological Monitoring Program, and a variety of Non-tidal Surface Water Monitoring Program projects. EAE staff work closely with other County agencies to provide program and project interpretation and implementation within the confines of State and County law.

The EAE Program initiates special studies, projects, and assessments to examine and document the current condition of the County’s aquatic and riparian area resources. The monitoring programs strive to inform our restoration efforts that lead to achieving the TMDL-required pollutant load reductions, MS4-required impervious area management, and that result in overall enhancement of our natural non-tidal resources. All is done with an eye toward balancing resource protection with the necessity of executing projects designed to maintain and improve the health of our natural aquatic systems.

Explore EAE's monitoring programs below!

Biological Monitoring - EAE staff routinely assess the status of the biological stream resources of Anne Arundel County's major watersheds to establish a baseline for comparing future assessments, track the status and trends of the biological stream resources, and to relate them to specific programmatic activities.

Long-Term Targeted Biomonitoring - As part of the Biological Monitoring Program, EAE staff routinely collect biological, habitat, and geomorphological data from local streams as part of a long term targeted biological monitoring program. The sample sites are located on reaches where stream restoration activities have occurred or are planned for the future.

Non-Tidal Surface Water Monitoring - The Surface Water Monitoring Program is responsible for evaluating the in-stream water quality of the County’s streams and rivers for purposes of developing a long-term water quality characterization of pollutant loadings from the Parole and Odenton Town Center areas.

Illicit Discharge Detection & Elimination (IDDE) - Under the NPDES MS-4 Permit, Anne Arundel County manages the IDDE program to screen at least 150 storm drain outfalls annually to locate illegal storm drain connections or other non-permitted dry-weather discharges through the municipal storm sewer systems. 

Collaborative Research Relationships – The EAE Program continues to develop collaborative research relationships with academic and research institutions, State and Federal agencies, and individual researchers. Research includes a multi-year study of the Rock Creek Estuary aeration system and Rock Creek estuary water quality (collaboration with UMCES/CBL), an investigation into pre-colonial coastal plain stream channel and riparian area (collaboration with USGS), and a comparison between eDNA assessment results and those results obtained with traditional fish and stream insect sampling (collaboration with UMCES/Appalachian Lab).

Please visit our Reports & Publications Page for more information on EAE project results.