Wednesday, September 26, 2012
The South River Federation helped construct a preventative wetland behind Homestead Gardens' nursery to benefit the local environment.
Business officials, environmentalists and dignitaries got an up-close and dirty look at the new wetlands restoration project at Homestead Gardens Tuesday morning. Executed by the South River Federation (SRF), the $100,000 project took about four years to become a reaility, but it's a welcome addition to the Davidsonville business, said Homestead Gardens President Brian Riddle. In attendance were County Executive John R. Leopold, Sen. John Astle (D-Annapolis) and County Councilmen Jerry Walker (R-7th District) and Chris Trumbauer (D-6th District). The wetlands restoration project—located behind the Homestead Gardens nursery—decreases stormwater runoff into local waterways. After the heavy rain it received nearly two weeks ago, it's …
Monday, September 24, 2012
The river and its waterways are "dying a death of a thousand small cuts," according to one environmentalist.
The South River Federation (SRF) is taking a big step toward improving local waterways and their access points thanks to a new wetland restoration project behind the Homestead Gardens nursery. As part of a $100,000 initiative to slow down stormwater runoff, the SRF installed a system of wetlands and bioretention cell. The strategy addresses multiple touch points leading to Beards Creek that cumulatively benefit the South River, said SRF Project Manager Kirk Mantay. “This type of landscape is dying a death of a thousand small cuts. With this type of project, we’re trying to address these cuts … One at a time,” Mantay said. “It’ll help fishing, water quality, waterfront properties.” In the last two weeks, the Homestead Gardens project site …
Friday, August 31, 2012
The South River Federation and the West/Rhode Riverkeeper each received special funding to assist in specific shoreline projects along local waterways.
Two local environmental organizations received more than $50,000 in grants from the Chesapeake Bay Trust on Thursday to build living shorelines along local waterways. Sixteen total recipients received more than $800,000 at a gathering in Eastport while The Chesapeake Bay Trust granted $12,880 to the South River Federation and $39,850 to the West/Rhode Riverkeeper along with 14 other groups. According to the Chesapeake Bay Trust, living shorelines are a stabilization technique that use natural habitat elements like rocks—instead of bulkhead or riprap—to protect shorelines from erosion while also providing critical habitat for fish, crabs and other wildlife. The trust partnered with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, …
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Patch took an inside look at how local environmentalists are preventing stormwater runoff and using their neighbors to help.
At first glance, environmentalists with the South River Federation look like they’re trying to do the impossible—stop water from rolling down a hill. But after looking closely at their work, especially within the Poplar Point community, a finely tuned and drawn-out plan comes to life as experts do all they can to increase the health of local waterways. Kirk Mantay, a 38-year-old project manager with the South River Federation, specializes in waterfront community programs and showed Patch one of the organization’s most recent ventures. Tucked away deep inside the Poplar Point community is a long gully, about 4 feet wide and 4 feet deep. It looks like a decorative lawn design, but in fact it’s an advanced environmental system that prevents …
Friday, July 27, 2012
Scientists discovered 15 dead fish last week while surveying the South River. The deaths are possibly due to warm temperatures and low dissolved-oxygen levels, they said.
Fish don't need air to survive, but they certainly need oxygen—something that's hard to come by in certain spots of the South River. There's something taking place in the local waterway known as "hypoxic squeezing," where fish are forced to occupy smaller and smaller living spaces as water becomes increasingly difficult to survive in. Naval Academy professor Andrew Muller, husband of South River Riverkeeper Diana Muller, said two main factors are forcing fish to live in concentrated depths and in a way, squeezing the fish out of livable spaces. High temperatures in surface waters and spreading algae blooms that "hog oxygen" at the bottom are decreasing the amount of areas fish can actually survive, he said. "The area of liveable depth is …
Riverkeepers announce a new app that helps residents learn where it's safe to swim near the Chesapeake Bay.
To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Clean Water Act, two local Riverkeeper organizations announced Thursday the release of a new smartphone phone app that allows residents to track bacteria levels in local waterways. West/Rhode Riverkeeper and Anne Arundel County Councilman Chris Trumbauer (D-6th District) along with the South River Federation jointly celebrated the release of Swim Guide, the app that displays bacteria monitoring data. The app is an embodiment of the Clean Water Act, Trumbauer said, as it promotes citizens rights' to clean, swimmable waterways. “One of the most frequent questions I am asked as Riverkeeper is ‘Is it safe to swim in the rivers?’” Trumbauer said. “The Swim Guide provides a free, easy to use way for …
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Even if the Chesapeake Bay is fully restored, the South River still faces substantial problems that are exclusive to its waters, local scientists say.
At the start of July, Gov. Martin O’Malley applauded the Watershed Implementation Plan and declared that Maryland met two-year milestones in restoring the Chesapeake Bay. But following the announcement, South River Riverkeeper Diana Muller showed hesitance to celebrate alongside the governor due to what she called “internal problems.” Many may assume that as the Chesapeake Bay improves, it will naturally benefit its tributaries, but it’s an assumption that’s far from the truth, Muller said. During their analysis of the South River, Muller, her husband and Naval Academy professor Andrew Muller and intern David Nematollahi gathered evidence that the South River actually gets worse the further it is from the Chesapeake Bay. In fact, the bay’s…
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
In part one of a three-part video series, Patch takes an inside look at the South River's condition and how scientists are hoping to cure its problems.
A crew of environmental scientists charted out onto the South River's quiet waters last Tuesday around 7 a.m. to beat the brutal July heat and to diagnose the local waterway's condition. With a heat index headed for triple digits, South River Riverkeeper Diana Muller, her husband and Naval Academy professor Andrew Muller and South River Federation intern David Nematollahi packed into the South River Riverkeeper boat and headed out onto the water for their weekly scientific quest. Patch was on hand as the scientists and their young intern analyzed, measured and calculated findings throughout almost a dozen “testing” stations on the river. Using a variety of techniques, from a simple black and white disc to a $14,000 piece of equipment, the…
Monday, July 16, 2012
The evidence leads out of the bay and up the rivers but the South River has its own problems, independent of the bay's dead zone.
Local rivers were pulsing with life. Minnows were darting through the stargrass while mussels serenely filtered water down below. Insect nymphs shucked their shells to emerge at the surface as gossamer mayflies. But here in the waters off Annapolis, we were about to make acquaintance with a dead zone. Capt. Paul Bayne plugged one end of a long, black cable into his hand-held dissolved oxygen meter. “Who wants to read out the numbers?” he asked. A woman stepped forward and took her position. Bayne lowered the probe on the other end of the cable into the surface water. “What does it say?” he called out. The rest of us edged a little closer. “10.8,” the woman replied. This was 10.8 parts of oxygen per million parts of water (ppm), which is …
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Following Governor Martin O'Malley declaration that the Chesapeake Bay is on the right track, a local expert explains why she's slower to declare "victory."
While Gov. Martin O'Malley announced Monday that Maryland had met milestone goals to protect and restore the Chesapeake Bay, a local riverkeeper says she would like to see more evidence. By gauging nitrogen and phosphorous poundage and reviewing "cover crops," the governor declared that the bay is on its way to prominence thanks to recent legislative efforts. However, following O'Malley's announcement, local chemist and water expert Diana Muller said the governor's assessment needs to be backed up with statistical evidence before riverkeepers like herself celebrate any real success. O'Malley's announcement stated that progress was achieved by planting 429,818 acres of cover crops, preventing about 2.58 million pounds of nitrogen and 86,…
Jen Reilly
5:56 pm on Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Kudos to all involved! more ›