Historic Black Town in Prince George's County Confronts Power Plant for Contributing to Flooding

When James Jones drives up to his one-acre property in Eagle Harbor, a small historically Black waterfront community on the southern tip of Prince George’s County, he is taken aback by the shimmering view of the Patuxent River, the longest river entirely within Maryland.

But as he walks towards the river’s edge and looks down, the Patuxent’s beauty escapes him. Jones remembers the heavy rainstorms that have eroded a large chunk of his shoreline. Fortifying his riverbank with large rocks has helped, but not enough. Neither did a silt barrier, as the force of stormwater rolling from a hill above the town and onto his property tore those down, he said.

Jones, 66, retired last December after working as a water technician for the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority for more than 30 years.

He lives in Fort Washington, but is restoring two boats — one pontoon and one fishing boat — in Eagle Harbor.

Read more: https://www.marylandmatters.org/2021/06/04/historic-black-town-in-prince-georges-county-confronts-power-plant-for-contributing-to-flooding/