West and Rhode Riverkeeper

We work with our community to enforce environmental law, to
promote restoration, and to advocate for better environmental policy.
Contact us: 410-867-7171  ♦  4800 Atwell Rd, #6, Shady Side, MD 20764

Water Quality Monitoring

West/Rhode Riverkeeper operates a volunteer water quality monitoring program during the underwater grass growing season (April – October). We sample weekly for important indicators of river health, such as dissolved oxygen, pH, temperature, salinity, and water clarity. It is critical to monitor for water quality in order to accurately assess the condition of our rivers.

Our program depends on the efforts of our wonderful volunteers. If you are interested in helping, please contact us at volunteer@westrhoderiverkeeper.org. We sample on Wednesday mornings.

serc_logo-01The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) maintains a continuous monitoring device on its dock in the Rhode River.

You can view the results here.

Water Quality Data

Our water quality data is collected by volunteers and the program is supervised by the West/Rhode Riverkeeper. The data is presented here. You can view it by clicking on one of the following links. (Each link will open a new window in your browser.)

  1. Geographic Display - Color coded maps, interpolated using GIS software
  2. Tabular Data - Downloadable data in .txt format 
For questions about the data, please email riverkeeper@westrhoderiverkeeper.org.

NEW for 2011! West/Rhode Riverkeeper, in partnership with Maryland Department of Natural Resources, maintains a Continuous Monitoring site on the West River at Chesapeake Yacht Club. Automated water quality measurements are collected every 15 minutes and the data is uploaded to the Eyes on the Bay Website.