Riverkeeper: 'It is time to make tough decisions'

By E.B. FURGURSON III, Annapolis Capital
Published 04/12/10

The West and Rhode rivers flunked water quality class last year, according to a new report.
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In three of six categories measured for the annual report card released Saturday, the river system earned an F. Its highest score was a B in the dissolved oxygen category.

"We cannot let our enthusiasm for clean water be dampened by bad news," Riverkeeper Chris Trumbauer said. "Bad news for the bay is so constant that we risk becoming immune to it. If we are serious about improving conditions, we need to change."

The data used to measure six water quality elements - water clarity, dissolved oxygen, nutrients, chlorophyll, underwater grasses and stream health - were compiled from 2009 testing by the West/Rhode Riverkeeper staff and volunteers, the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and others.

The testing report is part of a baywide effort among grass-roots organizations, some of which have compiled such data for several years now, to standardize their monitoring across the bay watershed.

Readings taken throughout the year were compared to Chesapeake Bay Program thresholds. Scores were set based upon what percentage of the readings attained the threshold.

Three parameters - water clarity, chlorophyll and underwater grasses - failed outright.

Only 4 percent of tests in the West River and 5 percent in the Rhode met the standard for water clarity. Creeks were worse than the main stems of the rivers, but even those were severely sullied. Algae and sediment can render water cloudy, blocking sunlight that underwater grasses need to grow.

Poor water clarity is the main reason underwater grasses scored a zero. Some spring grasses, which fade and die off by late May or June, were evident, but the main survey for grasses occurs after those are gone.

No grasses were detected in either river - a far cry from the goal of 298 acres of grasses set by the state. More than 400 acres of grasses, vital to the spawning and development of crabs and fish, were found throughout the watershed 50 years ago.

The other failing score was for chlorophyll, an indicator of algae. Algae is fed by nutrient pollution. When it proliferates, it keeps light from reaching grasses; when it decomposes, it eats oxygen.

In May a mahogany tide affected both rivers, pushing readings nearly off the charts. Almost every chlorophyll reading was higher than the threshold level.

Improvements

Nutrient pollution readings were a bit better this year, but still scored a D-minus.

Nitrogen and phosphorous pollution comes from septic systems, stormwater and wastewater effluent from the Mayo Wastewater Treatment Plant. Excess loads feed and spur outbreaks of algae.

The West/Rhode system is also affected by nutrient pollution from faraway sources via the bay.

One reason readings were slightly improved was that less rain fell north of us, reducing the flow down the Susquehanna River by roughly 25 percent.

"That is an interesting dynamic," Trumbauer said. "The Susquehanna River accounts for huge nutrient inputs into the bay."

He said that the geography of the bay and mouth of the West River account for more bay waters impacting the river system, which is not the case with other county rivers.

One of the bright spots was dissolved oxygen - the amount of oxygen present in the water for creatures to thrive on.

"The overall bright spot is that we did not suffer any major fish kills in 2009," Trumbauer said. "You take your victories where you can get them."

Like other conservationists working to help turn around the health of the Chesapeake Bay, Trumbauer is convinced active citizens can make the difference.

"If we are to get serious about improving our grades, it is time to make tough decisions," he said. "That includes holding elected officials and other decision makers accountable for their actions, as well as changing our own behavior."

He said the report card and other water quality measures are not encouraging.

"I can tell we are pretty close to the bottom ... and we can start going up," Trumbauer said.

He is hopeful that funding and renewed focus on the bay's water quality by the federal government will start to trickle down. He also hopes that will bring a new day for state enforcement of existing laws.

"We are hopeful, and that is why waterkeepers are starting to take more aggressive action, to remind people that what we (federal, state and local governments) have been doing is not getting the job done."

A copy of the report card, with an accompanying technical report, is available online at www.westrhoderiver keeper.org,

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