Columbians packed into a meeting room in the Owen Brown Interfaith Center Tuesday night as rain on the roof appropriately framed a discussion on storm water management and the health and future of Lake Elkhorn.
The community forum, hosted by a group of Owen Brown citizens concerned about the (currently lacking) state of dredging on the lake, featured a panel discussion by Chick Rhodehamel, the Columbia Association vice president for community development and sustainability, John McCoy, CA's watershed manager, Ned Tillman, an Owen Brown resident and author of the book "The Chesapeake Watershed: A Sense of Place and a Call to Action" and Sherm Garrison, water quality program manager for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
Richard Krantz, of Owen Brown, facilitated the event and called the evening a success. Its purpose was simple, he said: to educate people and allow them to voice their concerns.
Concerns came late in the evening; after presentations from Garrison and McCoy on the state's various lakes, the health of Lake Elkhorn and the environment, questions from the audience focused mostly on watershed management. Then people started asking specifically about the dredging of Lake Elkhorn.
Rhodehamel said bids to various contractors were due back to CA by July 6, at which time CA would offer a contract to the most responsive - not necessarily the lowest - bid.
While a timeline for dredging completion hasn't been set, Rhodehamel said, CA's still looking at restoring "as much of the depth" of Elkhorn as possible.
David Nibley of Owen Brown suggested draining Elkhorn to remove dry sediment, as opposed to hydraulic dredging. That wouldn't be cost-effective, Rhodehamel said, but assured audience members again that dredging of Elkhorn will continue, and will be completed.
Dredging at the lake came to a stop earlier this year when the company hired to remove sediment removed its equipment following a lawsuit and dispute with CA over sediment surveys and work done.
"Did we learn our lesson? Yes," Rhodehamel said.