CONTACT: Susan Harding, Acting Public Information Officer, 301-600-1385
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, November 3, 2006

THE CITY OF FREDERICK BEGINS WORK TO REPAIR A SLIDE GATE FOR THE CARROLL CREEK CENTER CHANNEL
A Slide Gate located along Carroll Creek Parkway near Bentz Street that controls water flow into the Center Section of Carroll Creek broke in the shut position in September.

Frederick, MD --- Please be advised that the Maryland Department of the Environment has granted the City of Frederick an emergency permit to enter the upper channel of Carroll Creek to fix a broken slide gate that controls water flow into the Center Section of Carroll Creek. The Army Corp of Engineers has also granted approval to use Husky Park to dispose of material that is dredged from the channel.

The City has selected Environmental Quality Resources (EQR) to remove sediment so the slide gate can to be accessed. The City will then be able to open the gate and determine the actual cause of the malfunction. As a part of this work, EQR will clear the center channel of Carroll Creek of all sediment between the beginning of the channel on Carroll Parkway and the outfall just east of Bentz Street.

The sediment removal is scheduled to begin on Monday, November 6 and should be completed in December, 2006. The City expects that approximately 750 cubic yards of silt, debris, and other material will be removed from the channel.

The City will continue to pump water into the center section east of Bentz Street until the project is complete. This effort has improved the appearance of the creek and will ensure that water stays in the center channel as it progresses through downtown Frederick.

BACKGROUND:
As part of its proactive bridge maintenance program, the City of Frederick performed bridge inspections for bridges over Carroll Creek at Bentz Street, Carroll Street, and Court Street in September. In order to get under the bridges to properly inspect them, the water level was lowered by closing a slide gate valve located along Carroll Creek Parkway near Bentz Street which controls water flow into the Center Section of Carroll Creek. This lowered the water table in the channel and allowed for completion of the bridge inspections. When the City attempted to open the slide gate at the end of the inspections it found that the opening mechanism was not operational. Since that time the City has been pumping water into the center channel.

MORE INFORMATION:
Please contact Neil Parrott, Deputy Director of Public Works for Engineering, for additional information. He may be reached at 301-600-1405.