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A survey is expected to get underway along the Rock Creek streambank. It's a joint effort by the City of Frederick and Hood College's Environmental Studies Department. "What we're doing is trying to identify the erosiveness that's occurred along the streambank," says Marc Stachowski, the Deputy Director of Public Works for the city. "Partly due to our need to understand where the silts are coming in that collect in the Carroll Creek Linear Park."

He says the findings from the survey will be used to help locate  grants to pay to remediate the erosion and silt problems.

Stachowski says this has been an ongoing problem with Rock Creek. "We've gotten a few more citizen concerns in that area based on some trees that have been undercut in recent storms," he says.

Stachowski says Hood students, in groups of three or four, will be working in or around the stream over the next several weeks. "They'll have some small measuring devices to give us an understanding the amount of silt and where it might be coming in. They'll doing some visual surveys," he says.

When the work is completed, Stachowski says Hood will draft a report which will be presented to city officials. He expects that to take place around December. "And then we'll take it from there with the funding," he says.

The city says the study will update one done a decade ago by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.

If you see any students near Rock Creek, Stachowski says you don't need to be concerned. But if you have questions, you can call 301-600-1440.