Annapolis man honored as MDE employee of year

For several years, Quentin Forrest traveled from town to town collecting information for the state about old septic systems and bad sewage pipes.

"It was the old-school way of doing things. Every time I went out, I thought: 'There's got to be a better way of doing things,'" Mr. Forrest said.

Now, thanks to Mr. Forrest's efforts, there is a better way: a computer database program linked to property information and geographic information. These days field agents use laptops to enter the data, which can then be used in a variety of ways beyond just monitoring shellfishing areas.

For his efforts, this week Mr. Forrest, who works in Annapolis, was named employee of the year for the Maryland Department of the Environment.

"MDE is extremely fortunate to have such a talented and dedicated employee as Quentin," said Shari Wilson, secretary of the environment. "He exemplifies efforts to advance environmental scientific knowledge through creative use of technology. The GIS system (geographic information system) he developed benefits two critical programs that safeguard public health - the shellfish industry and bathing beaches - and allows the state to use resources more cost effectively," she said.

The computer program took a few years to come to fruition. Mr. Forrest started with Access, a database program, and created a customized version to store all the survey information. Then it was linked with a state property database and tied in with geographic information system data.

The program allows surveyors to preplan their trips and target specific areas that might be contributing to water pollution. The surveyors visit homes and check out the septic systems, count the dogs that leave waste in the yard and look for sewage leaks - all problems that send harmful bacteria and nutrients into the water.

This is especially a concern for shellfish, which gobble up bacteria as they filter water. Considering shellfish is often eaten raw, people can get sick from eating shellfish from contaminated waters.

By law the state must collect the information. But now that it's all computerized, the information can be used for other purposes: determining pollution threats to swimming beaches, identifying areas with high rates of septic system failures, even finding neighborhoods that have large dog populations.

The data can help policymakers decide how to spend their money: where to connect public sewer systems, and whether to conduct educational campaigns on cleaning up pet waste.

The information can be shared with other agencies and other counties. For example, St. Mary's County was notified of septic problems in a neighborhood with two swimming beaches.

Mr. Forrest's background is in environmental science, and he's learned on his own over the years how to use GIS programs. He credits his supervisors for letting him pursue his idea, and also for getting funding for the project.

Mr. Forrest spends Mondays through Thursdays in the field, doing survey work on land and water for various pollution programs. He spends Friday in MDE's small field office on Chinquapin Round Road, and that's when he did a lot of work on the computer program. He also spent many nights at home in Calvert County working on it.

"I did a lot of it at home in the evenings because I was so excited about it," he said. "It was something I really thought could happen."