Lake Elkhorn

Lake Elkhorn

View of Lake Elkhorn, with townhouses in background
Location Columbia, Maryland
Coordinates 39°11′01″N 76°50′27″W / 39.1836°N 76.8409°W / 39.1836; -76.8409Coordinates: 39°11′01″N 76°50′27″W / 39.1836°N 76.8409°W / 39.1836; -76.8409
Type manmade
Primary inflows Elkhorn Branch of the Little Patuxent River
Primary outflows Little Patuxent River
Basin countries United States
Surface area 37 acres (15 ha)
Surface elevation 295 feet (90 m)[1]
Spillway and dam of Lake Elkhorn
The wooden docks on the north side of Lake Elkhorn, facing northeast

Lake Elkhorn is a 37-acre (150,000 m2)[2] reservoir located in the Owen Brown area of Columbia, Maryland. It is Columbia's third and largest lake.[3][4] Its main features are a small dam and a park with a picnic pavilion and a two-mile (3 km) walking path around the lake. The path was built in 1982.[5] It is surrounded by a park and townhouses. The lake, which was built in 1974, is named for the Elkhorn branch of the Little Patuxent River. In 1969, Spiro Agnew proclaimed the arrival of the first Columbia based scientific firm, Hittman Associates that relocated for favorable lease rates from Howard Research and Development.[6][7] Hittman in turn was contracted by the EPA using Wilde Lake as an example to recommend reuse of storm water runoff from all of Columbia's reservoir systems for residential drinking water to save on development costs.[8][9] The lake is overseen by the Columbia Association. The lake's location behind a large number of townhouses, though considered an attractive feature to homeowners, has raised concern following the drowning of a small child on September 2, 2005. A drowning occurred in 1980 and a maintenance worker drowned in March 1991.[10][11] A movement was started soon after to erect a fence around the lake, but the community was split over this need, and a consultant concluded a fence was not necessary.[12][13][14] The lake remained free of incidents until the 8 October 2013 when a body of a 32-year-old was found dead in the lake.[15]

See also

References

  1. ↑ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Lake Elkhorn
  2. ↑ Gelbert, Doug.A Bark in the Park: The 50 Best Places to Hike with Your Dog, Cruden Bay Books, 2003, ISBN 0-9644427-7-9, p. 111 books.google.com
  3. ↑ Kellner, Barbara.Columbia, Arcadia Publishing, 2005, ISBN 0-7385-1792-5, p.96 books.google.com
  4. ↑ Joseph Rocco, David L. Stebenne. New City Upon a Hill. p. 114.
  5. ↑ Bloom, N.D. (2001). Suburban Alchemy: 1960s New Towns and the Transformation of the American Dream. Ohio State University Press. p. 102. ISBN 9780814208748. Retrieved 2015-03-23.
  6. ↑ Kevin Thomas (14 June 1992). "Firms and profits flourished on Columbia's fertile ground". The Baltimore Sun.
  7. ↑ Barbara Kellner. Columbia. p. 95.
  8. ↑ Office of research and Monitoring, Environmental Protection Agency (January 1973). The Beneficial use of Stormwater.
  9. ↑ How Columbia, MD Streets Were Names columbiamaryland.com
  10. ↑ Elizabeth Lean (12 June 1991). "Columbia Assn. faces charges in employee drowning Working conditions said to seriously violate state code". The Baltimore Sun.
  11. ↑ "Men from Pa., Arbutus drown in 2 Md. lakes". The Baltimore Sun. 18 August 1980.
  12. ↑ Blakely, Andrei."Community split over need for playground barrier" explorehoward.com
  13. ↑ "Offices Proposed Next to Woodlawn"Washington Post, December 1, 2005
  14. ↑ Partlow, Joshua."Boy Wanders Away, Drowns in Howard Lake"Washington Post, September 3, 2005
  15. ↑ Luke Lavoie (10 October 2013). "Police find body in Columbia's Lake Elkhorn". The Baltimore Sun.
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