Monitoring continues in 2007
after finding Severn Dead Zones in
2006
Riverkeeper Fred Kelly records data
while volunteer Andrew Street reads DO levels from the YSI 85 meter.
Based on
past indications of low summer dissolved oxygen levels in the Severn, the
Severn Riverkeeper launched a monitoring project to measure dissolved oxygen
levels throughout the Severn during the summer of 2006. Monitoring
teams measured dissolved oxygen, salinity, and temperature at 18 stations
from Annapolis to the tidal head of the Severn. Top to bottom
measurements were made at each station every 1-2 weeks from June through the
end of August. The results showed that no place we monitored had average
bottom dissolved oxygen levels that were "healthy" by Chesapeake Bay Program
standards. Round Bay and Asquith Creek had very low levels, qualifying
them as "dead zones".
The 2006 SRK monitoring project report is available
online,
or a printable PDF version can be downloaded
here.
Help the Riverkeeper protect the Severn
If you see evidence of environmental
problems including violations of Critical Area and boating laws in the
Severn watershed, call the Chesapeake Bay Safety
and Environmental Hotline at
1-877-224-7229
(someone is on duty 24/7).
Also contact Fred Kelly, Severn Riverkeeper.
by email
fred@severnriverkeeper.org
or by phone at (410) 849-8540 or search
"Severn Riverkeeper" on MySpace.
Lack of oxygen kills 15,000 fish in Weems Creek
Peregrine
Falcons successfully nest on the Rte 50 Bridge
The Severn has seen a successful nesting by a pair of peregrine falcons,
a species currently recovering from devastation by DDT. The pair
nested on the underside of the Rte 50 bridge, producing a single fledgling
which had to be rescued from the Severn twice while learning to fly. See the
story by Allison Albert and John Clauson.
On June 28-29, 2007, a fish kill
occurred in Annapolis near the head of Weems Creek, leaving 15-20,000 dead fish
floating in the creek. Biologists from the MD Department of the
Environment investigating this incident have identified low dissolved oxygen
levels as the cause. Read the Riverkeeper's
report for more information.
