Federation Blog

Good Afternoon,
These bacteria results are for the samples were collected the morning of 5-22-2013. All locations are except 2 are within the instantaneous concentration of 104 cfu/100ml. The acceptable concentration of bacteria for swimming and other direct water contact determined by EPA, Maryland Department of the Environment and Anne Arundel County Department of Health is 104 colony forming units/100ml. Anne Arundel County has a 48 hour no swimming/recreational guidance of water ways after a rain event (1”). You can also see the bacteria results on our the South River Federation's website, www.southriverfederation.net, or use the SwimGuide mobile app (http://www.theswimguide.org)
Have a great a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend!!
Diana
Captain Diana Muller, South RIVERKEEPER®

Summer is almost here!  Grab your sunscreen, hat, beach towel, and check the Swim Guide for your Operation Clearwater Results!  Wait, Swim Guide?  You heard me right!  Before swimming, water-skiing, or tubing in the river, make sure it is safe to swim. 

Now, there is an easy way to stay healthy and informed. First, make sure your community has signed up for Operation Clearwater, the beach bacteria monitoring program for the South River. Next, download the Swim Guide Mobile App, an online tool and smartphone app to check local bacteria data for the South, West, and Rhode Rivers anytime, anywhere. 

The Swim Guide utilizes water quality monitoring data from government authorities and other organizations conducting routine testing to determine the water quality at nearly 2,500 beaches in the United States. Local testing locations on the West, Rhode, and South Rivers are updated weekly during the swimming season – Memorial Day through Labor Day. The Swim Guide is simple.  Green is safe while red locations are not safe for swimming.  Bacteria data for these rivers are collected by trained volunteers, and analyzed by Dr. Sally Hornor of Anne Arundel Community College as part of “Operation Clearwater” which was established by the Severn River Association. The test results are compared to the Environmental Protection Agency’s single test limit for safe swimming levels.

“One of the most frequent questions I am asked as Riverkeeper is ‘Is it safe to swim in the rivers?’” said Chris Trumbauer, West/Rhode Riverkeeper. “The Swim Guide provides a free, easy to use way for swimmers see the most recent bacteria data for their favorite swimming hole, and to make informed decisions about whether to swim,” he continued. “Swim Guide will help bring this important information to a much wider audience.”

 “Dead zones and fish kills are a community concern, but few things capture the public’s attention like increased risks to human health,” said Erik Michelsen, Executive Director of South River Federation. “One of our foremost goals is to inform people of pollution levels that could sicken swimmers or their pets. This tool will make it easier for individuals to get that information wherever they are.”

Heading out of the Chesapeake Bay’s western shore?  That’s no excuse to not stay safe when swimming!  The Swim Guide has beach information for sites across the country and is adding new areas weekly.   Download the Swim Guide now.

 

 

Spring just wouldn’t be the same without cleaning up the Edgewater Elementary bog. We were excited to be able to team up with an enthusiastic 4^th grade class for the fourth time.  Thanks to great support from the school, we are able to do this event twice a year.  Each time, we take one 4^th grade class out to explore and clean the bog.  We do fun and interactive educational activities relating to the Chesapeake Bay with the other classes.

Bogs were historically a common feature in the Maryland coastal plain, especially in Anne Arundel and the surrounding counties. They are composed of a very unique group of native plants and animals that we don’t even see in other types of wetlands, even those that might be located next to a bog. Bogs often look beautiful, but are naturally nutrient deprived which means that they can accept nutrient rich water from the suburban runoff that often flows down into them. Bogs can treat the pollution to some extent, and are sometimes created in new places specifically to help treat stormwater. Most of the county’s native bogs have been filled in or drained over the last 400 years, making it that much more critical to preserve them!

Although it was great to see so much trash removed from the bog, the best part of the day was seeing how genuinely interested the students were in the health of the bog and how excited they were to spend time outdoors.  It was very clear that the students enjoy having the bog at the school and look forward to participating in the cleanup again! The South River Federation thanks Edgewater Elementary and their students for taking such great care and pride of the bog - a beautiful, natural place right here in Edgewater!

 

From the mouth of the South River all the way to Bacon Ridge Branch, volunteers ventured into 40 non-tidal sites throughout the South River watershed as part of our annual Snapshot on April 13th. The volunteers collected data, as well as, nutrient and bacteria samples, to give us a “snapshot”of the South River.  Although the data represents just a “snapshot” in time, by collecting data from 40 sites around the South River, and doing it at about the same time each year, gives a good general barometer of the relative health of our streams and creeks. 

The nutrient samples were analyzed by Capt. Diana Muller, SOUTHRIVERKEEPER® and the bacteria samples by Dr. Sally Hornor of Anne Arundel Community College.  Leading up to the Snapshot, we experienced heavy rains which may explain some of the higher levels of nutrients and bacteria.  Every time it rains, polluted stormwater captures sediment, bacteria, nutrients, and other pollutants and carries them into our waterways. Three of the sites failed the EPA limit for bacteria which occurs when levels exceed 104/100 ml. 

Nutrient levels in the river varied considerably by the areas sampled and type of nutrient examined.  For instance, nitrate levels were low coming down from the headwaters area but higher near the mouth of the river.  High nitrate levels are often associated with runoff from septic systems, wastewater treatment plants, or fertilized areas.  High phosphate levels are often associated with fertilizers, detergents, and stream bank erosion, and they varied across the river.

Thanks to the Chesapeake Bay Trust, Unity Gardens, and hardworking Boy Scouts, the South River Federation and Oak Grove Marina now have a beautiful new rain garden and a growing bio-retention area. The new 400 square foot rain garden captures polluted stormwater runoff from the adjacent parking lot.  The garden was completed in April with the help of an enthusiastic troop of Boy Scouts, their parents, and siblings.  The Scouts came out after school and worked hard to plant as many shrubs and trees as they could including: button bush (Cephalanthus occidentalis), service berry (Amelanchier arborea), and sweet magnolia (Magnolia virginiana).  They did a great job planting, but before they got started, we had a lot of work to do!

The main body of the rain garden was constructed with the use of a bobcat.  Unlike regular gardens, rain gardens are bowl shaped which allows them to capture and temporarily hold water.  The bobcat was used to dig out the bowl as well as build the berms that support the garden and aid in controlling overflow.  A mixture of soil and compost were used to build the garden to help the water filter through the ground faster than the existing fill soil would have.   

Following construction of rain garden, adult volunteers placed cobble in specific areas to help control the flow of water and create stable outlets for overflow. Volunteers also spent time covering the site in woodchips and preparing the site for the planting with the Boy Scouts.

We didn’t stop with just the rain garden.  The Federation is continuing to expand the bio-retention area surrounding the garden and along the parking lot. Native trees were planted around the garden and on the slope next to the parking lot.  Not only will these trees help uptake stormwater and provide habitat, but they will help stabilize the slope next to the parking lot.

We are proud of our rain garden and invite you to stop by our office to say hi and see the garden!  A big thank you again goes to the Chesapeake Bay Trust and Unity Gardens for funding this project!

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Every once in a while you get a unique opportunity you just can’t pass up.  We could not turn down the chance to engage local school children in the planting of a green roof.  Wait, kids on a roof?  Don’t worry, it was much safer than it sounds.  Historic London Town and Gardens received a grant from the Chesapeake Bay Trust to install a ground level green roof over their underground museum.  The South River Federation got involved and was able to recruit volunteer groups to install and plant the roof.  This means we had an easily accessible, and safe, way for students to get engaged to help plant a green roof.

So what is a green roof?  Think of it as a living roof.  A green roof consists of plants, a special growing medium that consists of well draining soils and sand, on top of a filter membrane.  Often, there is a drainage layer under the filter membrane to allow excess water to flow off the roof during larger events and a waterproof or protective layer to protect the roof.  It may sound a bit complicated, but the end result is beautiful and it helps to keep more stormwater out of our rivers and the Chesapeake Bay. 

Before the students could plant, we brought in the Maryland Conservation Corps (MCC) volunteers to assist London Town’s Director of Horticulture, Nate Powers.  If you are looking for a skilled, hard-working crew, you can’t get anyone better than the MCCs!  They helped to lay the pea gravel around the border of the roof and place the endless wheelbarrows full of special soil on the roof.  We didn’t want them to only do heavy lifting so they got to relax and plant as well.

To finish up the roof, we brought in two of the best student groups we could find!  St. Andrews United Methodist Day School has volunteered with us many times in the past so they were quick to sign up for the green roof.  The students were also able to remove invasive English ivy in addition to their work on the green roof.  And when we approached the Boys & Girls Club, they were just as quick to jump at this unique opportunity for their Club members.  The members did a great job completing the planting and even had time for a stormwater tour of the site!

 

Project Clean Stream 2013 was our most successful year to date thanks to the 70+ volunteers that came out on Saturday, April 6^th!  Project Clean Stream is an annual event organized by the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay and sponsored locally by the Home Depot and Bertuccis of Annapolis. The South River Federation and its volunteers cleaned up a portion of Church Creek, bordered by Rt. 2, Forest Dr., and the Forest Plaza parking lot. Notorious for illegal dumping and prone to trash run-off from nearby roads and parking lots, this creek was in desperate need of attention.  In fact, we cleaned up this same site just two years ago.  Our dedicated group of volunteers picked up 100 bags of trash, up to 50% of which was plastic bottles and bags. Other interesting items included: chainsaw, two kitchen sinks, multiple car parts and 5 tires.  Needless to say, after all this was removed, Church Creek looked beautiful!

We would like to thank our generous local sponsors who helped make this event a success:

Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay for coordinating this event throughout the entire Bay watershed and for providing us with gloves, trash bags, and first aid kits.

Home Depot donated contractor bags, gloves, allowed us to use their trash-grabbers, and recruited Home Depot Associates with the cleanup.

Bertucci’s generously donated eight delicious pizzas for the volunteers to enjoy as a thank you for their hard work.

 

Anne Arundel County stands on the cusp of taking the most important step to clean up its streams, creeks, and rivers in the county’s history.  After years of debate and discussion, planning and preparation, the county is poised to create a dedicated, protected account for the restoration of our waterways, funded by a modest charge on the surfaces that channel stormwater into our rivers after every storm. 

Unlike “dedicated” funds at the state-level, Anne Arundel County has a stellar track record of using its special revenue funds for the purpose for which they were intended.  In fact, at the last County Council meeting, the County Auditor declared that in her 25 years of service with the county, she had “never” seen a case of those funds being misappropriated.  She also explained that to do so would be a violation not only of county law, but also state law.

The stormwater bill currently being considered by the Council was the product of a consensus-based process that lasted about 6 months and included a wide variety of stakeholders, among them, representatives from the homebuilders’ industry, chamber of commerce, commercial and industrial property owners, and the marine trades association.  The committee offered recommendations that will allow the county to meet its near-term and longer-term clean water permit obligations, and do so in a fair and equitable manner, spreading the responsibility evenly between sectors.  Those recommendations were largely adopted in the bill the County Executive introduced, and have the buy-in of a wide swath of the regulated community.  In many ways, the stakeholder committee process for this legislation represents a model of how individuals with divergent interests can come together on a difficult topic, work cooperatively, and achieve important solutions.

The committee’s financial targets were guided by the incredible information that the Anne Arundel County Department of Public Works has collected over the course of the past decade on the state of our waterways.  Last year, when each county throughout the state was required to provide a plan to the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) for how they intended to clean up their own streams, creeks, and rivers, Anne Arundel County served as a pilot project, showing other counties how it could best be done.  Once the plans were submitted to MDE, it quickly became apparent that Anne Arundel’s plan was among the most complete and well-conceived in the state.  This plan, the details of which can be found on the County’s website, will serve as the backbone for implementation of this monumental restoration task, a task the County, through assiduous planning, is well situated to tackle.

Not only will passage of this stormwater legislation put us on a path for clean water, according to a recent report by the University of Maryland, it will result in an infusion of dollars into the local economy.  For instance, for every dollar spent on the construction of restoration projects we can expect about $2.20 in local economic impact.  Similarly, for every dollar spent on the operations and maintenance of existing stormwater infrastructure, we can expect about $3.40 in local economic impact.  Cumulatively, these investments will support hundreds of local jobs in engineering, landscaping, and construction contracting.  

Importantly, we aren’t undertaking this work alone.  The 10 largest counties in Maryland are all undertaking their own, similar initiatives, to clean up their waterways, and the state is contributing significant resources to help local governments with their work.  Even smaller municipalities around the region, including Berlin, MD and Lynchburg and Charlottesville, in Virginia, have recently implemented stormwater utility programs to finance their clean water work.  

For a community whose quality of life is so intricately tied to the health of our waterways, Anne Arundel County stands to gain tremendously by making a significant investment in our clean water infrastructure.  This pending legislation does that, and puts us on the path to a healthier environment, a healthier economy, and a healthier future.

 

The South River is a beautiful place to live.  However, this beauty can often be overshadowed by our miles of eroding shorelines.  Brenda Boultwood of Edgwater lives along Church Creek, one of the most degraded creeks in the South River.  The shoreline along her property had very visible erosion that needed to be addressed.

One option would have been to install a wooden bulkhead or stone barrier along the shoreline.  Considering that wooden or stone barriers can degrade and be washed away and that they do not provide a benefit to the environment, Brenda wasn’t interested in either option.  She liked the idea of creating native habitat, especially given the state of Church Creek.  After consulting with various experts and conservation organizations, Brenda knew a living shoreline was the right option for her.  Living shorelines not only provide native habitat, but offer more protection and are more resilient than other methods. 

As an added bonus, living shorelines are quite beautiful.  Brenda now has 1,800 square feet of living shoreline where she can see crabs, fish, and other aquatic life.  Plus, it makes a great place to entertain guests and educate them about ways we can individually improve the South River and the Chesapeake Bay.  This project was partially funded by the Chesapeake Bay Trust.

Creating a living shoreline is worth all the effort, but Brenda does have some advice to consider before tackling a project of this size:  Take the time to talk to plenty of experts because there are many different approaches to constructing a living shoreline.  Do not just rely on one source.  The paperwork can be quite time consuming so do not underestimate the permitting process and related expenses.  When it comes time to install the shoreline, get a wide variety of bids.  In her case, the most expensive bid was four times higher than the least expensive bid.

The South River Federation considers her project an experimental shoreline.  A critical component of all successful living shoreline projects is their dense coverage in native wetland vegetation. To achieve this coverage, conventional living shoreline projects involve the placement of coarse sand to provide, on the day of construction, the proper elevation for wetland plant survival.  However, if erosion continues either uphill or on nearby shorelines, these sites can end up "sitting" much higher than originally designed and, a few years after construction, may not be wetlands at all. The correct management of sediment supply and transport is extremely important. To further explore this issue, Brenda’s shoreline, which is actively eroding from the adjacent cliff, was constructed without sand fill. Natural erosion, transport, and accretion will dictate the final wetland grades of the living shoreline site, a move that will reduce costs and respect the dynamic nature of shoreline processes.

Within two weeks of construction of this site by Central Marine, a nearly identical site was protected on Church Creek using conventional methods (rock breakwaters, sand fill, native planting). The Federation is monitoring the elevations of both sites twice per year for the next three years to better understand the dynamics of living shorelines.