“They even had to look into explosives,” said Mr Crouse, 11th grade assistant principal, when asked about the Chesapeake Bay Drainage project.

The Chesapeake Bay Drainage project, part of Howard County’s Watershed and Restoration Program, started in June to improve water quality and reduce stormwater pollution.

For the project, the county will create water quality structures and over 600 feet of pipes for water storage. This provides approximately 23 acres of drainage area, which is about 17 football fields, with pipes located beneath the athletic fields.

The county is committed to stormwater management, as stormwater runoff accounts for over 20 percent of the pollution impacting the Chesapeake Bay, according to the Howard County government.

“Projects like this continue our effort to protect the Chesapeake Bay, by minimizing the impact stormwater pollution has on this important estuary,” said County Executive Ken Ulman, according to a news release by the Howard County government earlier this year.

However, the project, which was supposed to be complete by August 15, faced delays due to bedrock, and was forced to be continued into the school year.