West and Rhode Riverkeeper

On December 11, local Eagle Scout Jimmy Gordon celebrated his successful Eagle project in a Court of Honor at Discovery Village in Shady Side. Jimmy's project involved constructing wooden racks to store 18 kayaks for West/Rhode Riverkeeper. The kayaks are used during warm weather months during the Riverkeeper's Community Kayaking events, which allow the public to take a kayak out on the West River for free.

See below for a video about the project. Thanks Jimmy!

2011 is shaping up to be quite a year for extreme weather and natural disasters. We started with a very wet and cool spring which quickly transformed into an unbearably hot summer with temperatures in the triple digits. The August 23 earthquake caused little damage, but captivated the news cycle and the water cooler chatter for days. Hurricane Irene and her strong rain and winds felled trees and left many of us without power, but it will take some time to assess her impact on water quality.

Each of these events had an effect on our environment in some way – great or small. For those of us who study the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries, we know that weather contributes to the health of our waterways. A rainy year will likely bring more pollution to our waters, in the form of stormwater runoff. It can also affect the populations of aquatic life such as oysters, which need a certain level of salinity in the water in order to reproduce. The combination of heavy rains and high heat  caused the fourth largest ‘dead zone’ on record this summer – just when we thought the dead zone was retreating. A particularly hot year can also damage beds of underwater grasses, and sustain persistent algae blooms which thrive in warmer water. Perhaps most alarming were reports this summer of people contracting a deadly bacteria called Vibrio that can develop under certain conditions.

But regardless of the annual fluctuations of weather patterns and extreme events, the underlying threats to healthy waterways remain constant. As our population continues to grow, and we add new pollution loads to our sewer system and wastewater treatment plants, more nitrogen and phosphorus pollution is discharged into our rivers and streams. Modern technology allows us to greatly reduce the amount of pollution, but our sewer plants must be upgraded and we lack the funding to complete these important upgrades.

Each and every time it rains, stormwater runoff delivers pollution to our waterways. Rainwater flows from our rooftops, driveways, roads, parking lots and other hard surfaces into the nearest drain or ditch, carrying contaminates from oil and sediment, trash, and animal waste  into local waters. Our newer communities utilize modern stormwater management techniques, which allow the rainwater to soak into the ground rather than become runoff. But most of our older communities were built long before this was the norm, and need to be “retrofitted” through restoration projects to achieve a much higher degree of pollution control.

Another significant contributor of pollution in our area comes from septic systems. Even though many of our communities are on public sewer service, large pockets still remain on septic. A household on a properly functioning septic system can contribute 10 times more nutrient pollution to our waters than the same household on public sewer. Failing systems are even worse, and may contribute harmful bacteria as well. There are currently no pollution standards, inspection or maintenance requirements regarding septic systems in our county.

To address the pollution from the Three S’s (Sewer, Stormwater, and Septic), the environmental community is organizing a grass-roots effort to promote our Clean Water, Healthy Families campaign. Last year was a huge disappointment for the environment in the Maryland General Assembly. We are organizing now to make it clear to our State Elected Officials that we expect them to act to protect our waterways and our communities. We are asking for legislation to increase funding for the Bay Restoration Fund (the so-called “flush fee” which funds wastewater treatment plant upgrades and septic-to-sewer conversions); to establish a dedicated funding source for critical stormwater management projects; to require a treatment standard for all wastewater treatment systems (including septic systems); and to discourage sprawling growth in inappropriate areas. You can find more information about this campaign at www.cleanwaterhealthyfamilies.org.

While earthquakes and hurricanes consume most of our attention, pollution continues to enter our waters every day from slow, yet consistent, sources. Hurricanes and earthquakes are often measured in terms of the millions (or billions) of dollars of damage they caused. The Chesapeake Bay has recently been estimated to have a nearly $1 trillion economic value. What is the cost to us all of allowing its health to decline? We are always on guard against “natural disasters,” but let us remember that another true disaster would be failing to act now to preserve our greatest resource. Please help us by joining the Clean Water, Healthy Families campaign. Go to the website and sign our petition!

Staff at West/Rhode Riverkeeper were able to breathe a huge sigh of relief this weekend, after we pulled off another successful Rhythm on the River fundraiser. To those of you who were in attendance, I hope you'll agree it was a great party.

Rhythm could not be possible without the tremendous support of our volunteers. We had volunteers to help with the setup and preparations, registration/check-in, tender service, the bar, the silent auction, and of course, cleanup at the end. We are a small organization and that was a BIG party - and we owe a lot to all of those who helped us make it a success.

So much of what we do depends on volunteer support from within our community. We are very proud of what we do, and equally proud of those who help us do it. From the dedicated Wednesday Morning Warriors who go out water sampling every week, to the members of our  Board of Directors (also volunteers!) - people power is what makes this organization run.

So thank you to all of our volunteers. We couldn't do this without you!

I'm sure many members of West/Rhode Riverkeeper are following the Gulf Oil Spill situation. The devastating impacts of this spill demonstrate once again how easily we can destroy an ecosystem.

As we watch the oil inundate Gulf marshes and cover fish, turtles, birds and other wildlife, we are reminded of the effects of poor regulation. This country has laws meant to minimize the likelihood of such catastrophic oil spills. Too often, however, the profits of an industry take precedence over protection of our natural resources.

While we can't go back in time to prevent this spill, we can do our best to make sure this doesn't happen again. Just a few weeks ago, federal officials unveiled plans to pursue offshore drilling near the Chesapeake. What was a controversial idea just a couple weeks ago now seems like utter folly. Who could possibly advocate for bringing offshore drilling to our coast now? Drill, baby, drill became spill, baby, spill.

We are fortunate that the West and Rhode Rivers are not threatened by this disaster. However, our hearts go out to those in the Gulf States who will be dealing with this tragedy for years to come. Our brother and sister Waterkeeper organizations in the area are on the front lines down there. You can support them by visiting this site. (Select 'Gulf Disaster Relief' in the Gift Designation box).

You can read the official Waterkeeper press release on the Gulf Oil Spill here.

This is the 40^th anniversary of Earth Day, founded in 1970. Much is being made in the media of the significance of Earth Day and its meaning today. As someone with a passion for environmental issues, I thought I’d lend my voice to the chorus.

In 1970, Earth Day was founded as an angry response to an unacceptable situation. The Potomac River was a cesspool, the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland caught on fire, and air pollution was so bad smog was killing people. People were marching in the streets. The anger translated to activism, and the whole country demanded change. Victories soon followed with the founding of the EPA (1970), the Clean Water Act (1972), and the Endangered Species Act (1973) just to name a few.

Now, 40 years later, Earth Day has a much different feel. Businesses promote “green” products, school kids plant trees, and there is some sort of Earth Day concert with Sting planned on the DC mall this weekend. These new ways of celebrating Earth Day have somewhat of a celebratory feel about them. And there have certainly been victories to cheer, but it almost feels like Earth Day is taking a victory lap. We need to ask ourselves, did we earn the right to celebrate yet?

With regard to the Chesapeake Bay, I would say no. Scientists and activists alike agree that the Bay is in poor condition. We have a long way to go to get to the point when we can pat ourselves on the back. Back in 1970, politicians feared being voted out of office if they didn’t vote for the environment. Looking back at the last Maryland General Assembly, we can see that is not the case today.

We need environmental stewardship to be completely interwoven into all aspects of our lives. How we drive, what we buy, where our electric comes from. How many of us just think about that once a year during Earth Day? If we want a restored Bay, then every day is going to have to be Earth Day, not just once a year.

Welcome to our new website - I hope you like it! Here at West/Rhode Riverkeeper, we have a lot of information to provide. We tried to setup this site to provide that information to you as best we could. You'll also notice that we made it simple to connect with us through social media (like Facebook and Twitter) and we have a new interface for our newsletters.

The design is by Annapolis Web Publishing - they did a great job. I'd also like to thank Steve Gauss, who maintained our former website. Many folks know Steve through his local work to promote oyster restoration with POWeR.

Please let me know what you think of our new site. Is there anything you especially like or anything that is missing? I value feedback from our members! Email me at chris@westrhoderiverkeeper.org.

Thanks!

On December 1, I assumed the responsibilities as Executive Director for West/Rhode Riverkeeper, Inc. When I was hired as Riverkeeper in July 2008, the intention was always for me to eventually serve as both Riverkeeper and Executive Director, and allow Bob Gallagher, the organization's founder and former Riverkeeper to transition to become Chair of our Board of Directors. It is appropriate at this point to thank Bob for his amazing vision and dedication to the program. I am very excited about my new role, and equally excited that Bob will remain fully engaged as Board Chair and continue to avail the organization of his knowledge and experience.

We are also shifting some responsibilities for our other staff. Amy Colhoun, our Program Manager, will be assuming the volunteer coordinator duties. Kelly Myers is now our Outreach and Communications Coordinator.

West/Rhode Riverkeeper is privileged to have such a talented team working as staff, and also a dedicated volunteer base and membership community that enables us to continue to work to improve the health of our Rivers. Thanks to everyone who helps make our work possible!