Where the St. Mary's River goes in heavy rains, trouble is sure to follow.

So after Hurricane Isabel in 2003, a group of Vesuvius residents came together to try and compromise with the river.

Before Isabel, Riverheads District supervisor and area resident Nancy Sorrells said it took 20 inches to get the river out of its bank. But after that, two or three inches would bring it up.

Sorrells says the river rerouted itself and cut new stream bed.

Residents decided they didn't want to live with uncertainty every time it rains, so they formed the St. Mary's Upper South River Watershed Association.

The group set in motion a reshaping of the riverbeds. So far, a retaining rock wall has been created to buffer the main channel.

Sorrells says it won't stop floodwaters from spilling over, but it will help lessen their force.

The rock will also encourage the river to follow the new main channel, instead of going into the flood plain.