Healthy Lothian Community Meeting / March 15, 2025

At our 2nd Healthy Lothian Community meeting on March 15, 2025, we had 40 or more participants. The meeting was held to gather as a community to discuss water issues, air quality, and to hear from the Lothian community what improvements would be desired in the Lothian / Harwood area. The meeting was hosted by Patty Delgado at the Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary in Lothian, Maryland. Our speakers were Fred Tutman / Patuxent Riverkeeper, Michael Harshman / SERCAP, Juana Cumberbatch /Patuxent Riverkeeper, and Representatives for Region 8 Planning / Anne Arundel County Office of Planning and Zoning.

Fred spoke on the water concerns at the mobile home parks and our reaching out to the county and the state of Maryland for solutions. Numerous questions and personal stories from those who attended regarding the water were expressed. Michael Harshman of SERCAP / Southeast Rural Community Assistance Project spoke about his organization and offerings available to the residents with water testing and solutions for cleaner water. Juana Cumberbatch spoke on the Air Quality report for Lothian and its possible health effects on the community.

The Anne Arundel County Office of Planning presented the Region 8 Planning Questionnaire and encouraged the group to participate in the questionnaire in order to share what they would like to see happen in the county moving forward. In addition this meeting also provided vital community resource information and updated local area news. Fred asked the community to gather as a group to address all concerns to the county and state - as a unified community has a louder voice by way of numbers. Our next meeting we will share progress made for solutions to the drinking water and communications with the county.

Our next meeting date will be announced shortly and will include a focus on one of the action items listed above as well as a roundtable discussion regarding updates, concerns, and additional resources for community support.