Anne Arundel County is coordinating a pilot program along with the City of Annapolis and the Chesapeake Bay Trust to purchase properties that see frequent flooding.

The program will use acquired properties to better protect other nearby areas from the impacts of frequent non-tidal or stormwater flooding, and give frustrated property owners a new option. The County has dedicated $1.3 million to the pilot program, and intends to purchase initially purchase only a few properties.

From coverage in the Capital Gazette:

“I don’t expect a wave of applications, but we are aware of a handful of property owners who have [flooding] issues,” said Erik Michelsen, acting deputy director of the county’s Bureau of Watershed Protection & Restoration.

“One of the ancillary goals of this program will be to actually help us get a better handle on how big (or not) a problem this issue is countywide.”

For more information, read the full article, and visit the Anne Arundel County Bureau of Watershed Protection and Restoration’s website.