The Local Source for News and Information Since 1980
DENTON – From 10,000 feet above, they look like Caroline County’s capillary system, and in a way, they are.
They are the hundreds of miles of drainage ditches throughout the county that divert excess rainwater from farmland. They have rescued fields from catastrophic flooding and saved harvests where cropland accounts for about half of the land use on the Delmarva Peninsula.
“Land drainage and agriculture are intertwined,” stated an October 2000 report by Maryland’s Public Drainage Task Force. And because they are so closely linked, the health of the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed is vitally important.
Water drains off farmland and into waterways that flow into the Bay. But the health of farmland is also important, since agriculture is Maryland top industry..
In this series, we will explore the history of the network of ditches in Caroline County, the associations that manage and maintain them, how they contribute to the local economy, and how they fit into soil conservation and Bay health efforts today.
One of the oldest agricultural drainage systems in the United States can be found in Caroline County.
Known as the Long Marsh project in northern Caroline County and a tiny section of Queen Anne’s County, it was authorized in 1789. The original ditch was dug by enslaved people using hand tools. Local legend has it that George Washington himself deployed his laborers for the project.
According to Leslie Grunden, assistant director of planning with the Caroline County Department of Planning and Codes, the Long Marsh ditch network is so vast, “you can see it from space.”
The Longmarsh Drainage Association maintains the ditch to this day. It comprises ditches and their channelized streams totaling 260 miles and draining nearly 105,000 acres.
Given the topography of the county, with more sandy soil towards the southern end and more clay content at the northern end, drainage ditches like Longmarsh near Marydel are essential.
The “Public Drainage Associations: Laws and Regulations,” re-published by the Maryland Department of Agriculture in 2018, states that public drainage systems have “many public benefits.”
“Research has shown that proper drainage of frequently saturated soils helps create more productive farmland, reduces flooding, protects public health, improves the transportation infrastructure and supports local economies,” the report states. “The upkeep and maintenance of public drainage ditches is critical.”
But there’s a downside. “Poorly maintained systems can accelerate the delivery of nutrients to nearby waterways, disturb wildlife habitat, and contribute to erosion and sediment losses,” the report grimly warns.
The Land Conservation Assistance Network (LandCAN) reports that about 80% of Caroline County’s land drains into the Choptank River. The other 20% lies within the Nanticoke River Watershed.
“Drainage continues to be a top priority,” LandCAN states, as the county “has more organized Public Drainage Associations than any other district in Maryland.”
In March 2023, Trista North of the Caroline County Soil Conservation reported to the Caroline County Commissioners that the county’s Public Drainage Associations promoted drainage for 91,560 acres (43.89%) of Caroline County’s 208,600 acres.
Those associations and the term “tax ditches” will be explored in Part 2 of this series.
