September 2026 - Issue #124

Josh Maze is CWP's newest Watershed Research Intern

How did you get started working on watersheds?

I first took interest in water resources due to my liking in freshwater ecology and river systems. My college experience at UMD helped solidify my passion and professional pursuit in watershed management and protection.

What is your favorite part about working at CWP?

At CWP I get to combine my passions and technical skills to help save the world!

At which store would you like to max-out your credit card?

Orvis, I have already come close a couple of times.

What was your favorite TV show when growing up?

Modern Family, I remember watching with my family every Wednesday night as a child. I still watch every now and again

What is your favorite river?

Cranberry River, WV. I have very fond memories there of hiking and fishing with some of my best friends.

If you could have any one superpower, which would you choose?

Time travel, I have always wanted to travel back in time and experience humanity throughout different ages.

What do you want to make sure you do before you die?

Turn over all the stones!

Ben Dorman is CWP's newest Chesapeake Conservation and Climate Corps Member

How did you get started working on watersheds?

I’ve always been motivated to confront environmental issues head-on, and I finally have an opportunity to make a difference through the CCCC program.

What is your favorite part about working at CWP?

My favorite part about working for the Center so far is meeting a large network of people that hold a similar passion for conservation and restoration.

What was your favorite TV show when growing up?

Adventure Time was a fantastic show to grow up with and is always lovely to come back to

Which sea creature is your favorite?

I have always been fascinated by the intelligence of dolphins and am fully convinced that they know things about the world that we humans do not.

What is the nerdiest thing you do in your spare time?

I am borderline obsessed with Beyblade. Seriously. I play competitively and am constantly on the lookout for every new release.

What is your favorite river?

Being born and raised in St. Mary’s County, I’ve never been too far from the Patuxent and have many great memories associated with those waters.

If you won the lottery, what would be the first thing you would buy?

I would buy one of those old Volkswagen hippie vans, have it restored, and go on a road trip to every national park in America.

Managing modern MS4 programs requires navigating increasingly intense storm events, aging infrastructure, and fragmented data scattered across systems, departments, and processes. To overcome these operational silos, the Clean Water Partnership in Prince George’s County, MD is implementing a Smart Watershed Asset Management Platform—a project designed to transform isolated Best Management Practices (BMPs) into a unified, proactive stormwater network. By integrating public datasets, real-time monitoring data, adaptive control technology, and the County’s maintenance and procurement systems, the platform provides a holistic view of how design, construction, and maintenance decisions drive runoff management performance across the community. This will shift the County away from rigid, calendar-based schedules toward responsive, condition-based watershed management that directly supports erosion and runoff control by identifying underperforming BMPs, validating maintenance outcomes, and improving response times. 

Powering this platform is a pragmatic application of generative AI, which works securely on the backend to synthesize disparate source systems into a daily-refreshed, reliable interface without requiring the County to overhaul existing workflows. The project is taking a phased approach, beginning with data readiness, requirements gathering, and a targeted pilot deployment, followed by portfolio-wide expansion, predictive modeling, and long-term optimization across more than 700 BMP assets. Guided by human oversight, this cloud-based foundation translates technical asset data into clear, actionable investment intelligence that proves the return on investment of current assets and prioritizes future capital projects for maximum resilience. As stated by CWP Mid-Atlantic Program Director Sonya Williams, the County is "moving from simply having data, to connecting data, to understanding performance, and ultimately to using that intelligence to manage the watershed".

To learn more about this project and view a live demo of the platform, you are invited to watch the full webinar presented as part of Stormwater Awareness Week here: From Reactive Maintenance to Smart Watershed Management

The 2027 National Watershed and Stormwater Conference Is Looking For Speakers

The 2027 National Watershed and Stormwater Conference Field Trips Have Been Annouced

Patapsco Valley State Park Master Plan Request for Proposals

The 2027 CWP Webcast Series is here!

The Clean Water Certificate Training in California!

Coastal Stormwater Center of the Southeast brings stormwater solutions to Alabama, region