Howard County Executive Calvin Ball announced Saturday that just under 4 tons of debris were removed after a series of intense storms swept through the area.
Ellicott City Safe and Sound’s stream debris cleanup team began working to remove the refuse after 2.5 inches of rain fell in the county over less than two hours, according to the county.
Ball thanked the Department of Public Works and Howard EcoWorks for removing tree limbs, rubble and more out of drainage systems in the city.
“The increasingly severe summer storms we have seen in recent years can quickly cause a buildup of debris at multiple points in the watershed in and around Ellicott City,” Ball said. “This process is so important to prevent downed limbs and other debris from blocking culverts and causing [an] overflow.”
The county began clearing debris from waterways after a 2018 protocol required the city to remove debris within days of weather events.
Those events include two inches of rainfall over 24 hours and winds over 30 mph sustained for an hour.