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W
hen Seagirt Berth 4 is fully functional later this
year, visitors will marvel at its capacity to handle
the world’s biggest ships, thanks to its 50-foot
depth and Super Post-Panamax cranes.
They won’t see an equally innovative storm-
water management system, yet its behind-the-scenes — or more
accurately, under-the-scenes — role in the new berth will ensure a
cleaner Chesapeake Bay.
“This is the first system of its type in East Coast maritime
space that does what it does,” said Mark
Montgomery, President and CEO of Ports
America Chesapeake.
The system collects stormwater runoff
from the new pier and filters it through a
series of large, underground chambers
before discharging clean water back into
the harbor’s waters. The chambers are
equipped with baffles made of ABS plastic
and built into the base of the supporting
structure.
Mark Schmidt, Terminal Manager for
Ports America Chesapeake, explained that
the arch-topped chambers are 24 feet wide,
11 feet high and 190 feet long. Running the
water through baffles and detaining it gives
marine terminals
BY NANCY MENEFEE JACKSON
Photography Courtesy of Ports America Chesapeake
March/April 201 2
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The Port of Baltimore
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State-of-the-Art Stormwater
Runoff System Keeps Harbor
Clean Around Seagirt