Recent News

This time of year there are always questions around bacteria levels in our rivers. Why is my creek failing? How are samples collected? Join Arundel Rivers on Tuesday July 14th from 12:30 to 1:30 PM to learn the ins and outs of our summer bacteria monitoring program with your South, West, and Rhode Riverkeeper, Elle Bassett! This is an excellent opportunity to hear from the Arundel Rivers Federation monitoring team as they break down why, what, where, and how we sample for ent

Well, it's hard to believe we are already 3 months into our 2026 monitoring season. I was eager for summer to arrive, but now I wish time would slow down a bit! Here are some exciting updates from the Riverkeeper/Monitoring department in June 2026: We started the month with water clarity averaging about 1.5 feet greater than this time last year. At the mouth of the South River, for example, we recorded 5.5 feet of clarity this June compared to just 3 feet in June 2025. While

Arundel Rivers released the 2025 River Report Card at a public event at Homestead Gardens this week. Based on data collected throughout the 2025 monitoring season, the South River earned a score of 52%, the West River earned 53%, and the Rhode River earned 49%—giving all three rivers an overall grade of C. Each year from April through October, our monitoring team, led by Elle Bassett, collects water quality data across the watershed to better understand the health of our rive

Maryland is grappling with a serious but largely invisible source of water pollution — and this week, the Maryland Senate is allowing a critical opportunity to better manage failing septic systems slip out of reach. In the aftermath of Senate floor discussions about important septic legislation, some lawmakers questioned whether pollution from septic systems is truly a problem — framing it as overblown, or even suggesting that septic systems are a simple, well-understood infr