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New Group Joins Fight For Baltimore Water Quality

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A proposal to pave alleys and street corners with permeable concrete in Baltimore would allow rainwater to filter through the ground instead of dump directly into the streets and the stormwater system.
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A proposal to pave alleys and street corners with permeable concrete in Baltimore would allow rainwater to filter through the ground instead of dump directly into the streets and the stormwater system.

A new group dedicated to improving water quality in Baltimore is announcing a plan to pave alleys and street corners with permeable concrete.

The area including Baltimore has, according to surveys, the worst water quality in the Chesapeake Bay.

"It's not at a level where people want it to be," says Bob Gray, who represents Bluewater Baltimore.

Bluewater Baltimore is one of the most recent groups to join the effort to improve the water there.

One of the first projects will be to install pervious pavers on certain Baltimore streets. The pavers let rainwater filter through the ground instead of dump directly into the streets and the stormwater system.

"That empties into the streams and rivers and harbor and eventually hits the bay," Gray says.

Bluewater Baltimore will also try to convince people to do their part, avoiding using lawn fertilizers that leach into the water.

The new group is forming as Maryland starts working on a Chesapeake Bay cleanup program with the Environmental Protection Agency.

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