Recent News

Holy salty water batman! I'm sure it was hard to miss the the explosion of jellyfish we had this summer. While jellies are common in our waterways this late in August, they did seem to show up earlier than usual this season. This is likely because our salinity levels, or how salty the water is, are much higher than usual. The average salinity we see around this time of year is around 8 parts per thousand (ppt), but we're seeing closer to 12 or 13ppt. Although we don't "grade"

I had a classic Annapolis weekend on the books this week. A group of friends and their families from out of town were coming to stay. The plan was I’m sure the same as many others’ plans- to swim and play. Eat crabs, go for a boat ride or three, and let our young kids jump off the bow. As Riverkeeper of the South, West and Rhode, the rivers I grew up swimming on, raising my kids on the river is important to me. Unfortunately, the reality of summer on the Chesapeake has change

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

Thank you to everyone who joined us at Homestead Gardens last Thursday where we unveiled our 2025 River Report Card for the South, West, and Rhode Rivers. If you were able to join us, please take this short event survey to provide us with valuable feedback on how to make this event and the data presented better every year. Based on data collected during the 2025 monitoring season, the South River earned a score of 52%, the West River earned 53%, and the Rhode River earned 49%

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

Hello folks! If I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting you yet, my name is Rachel Beall, and I am the Chesapeake Conservation and Climate Corps (CCCC) Member at Arundel Rivers Federation this year. I chose to work at Arundel Rivers because of the impressive and encompassing work that they do for the South, West, and Rhode Rivers - from large-scale restoration projects, to science-based advocacy, local Best Management Practices (BMPs), and volunteer and education experiences fo

Join us on Saturday, March 14th, 2026 to celebrate another year of work healing our rivers at the 2026 Arundel Rivers on the Half Shell! Time & Location Mar 14, 2026, 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM YMCA Camp Letts, 4003 Camp Letts Rd, Edgewater, MD 21037, USA About the event Join us on March 14, 2026, for an evening dedicated to celebrating another year of protecting, preserving, and restoring our rivers. Tickets are on sale now. This event is very likely to sell out again this year, so

The Forest at Glebe Heights along the South River Dear members, supporters, partners, and friends, Within my first month as your riverkeeper in 2022, I sent out my first call to action to protect over 40 acres of forest on the Mayo Peninsula in the South River watershed that were under threat to be developed. That first comment letter I submitted had over 600 of your signatures on it, asking the county to deny the subdivision application. Since that first letter, I have sub

All I want for Christmas is less nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment entering our waterways that result in poor clarity, algal blooms, dead zones, and poor habitat. That's not asking too much right? While I may not receive everything on my Christmas list this year, we did receive a newly signed Chesapeake Bay Agreement. We applaud the Bay states for reaffirming their commitment to the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. And while we did not see everything we wanted to see in

We're approaching the end of 2025 and it's been another busy year working to heal the South, West, and Rhode Rivers and championing clean water across Maryland! Take a look at some of the highlights from the work we've done (so far) this year.

October brought nothing but good news for the Riverkeeper Department. Our water quality is significantly improving this month, which is usual and to be expected every October, but even more noticeable this month compared to last year. Our clarity is incredible right now- some of our sites are measuring over 5.5ft of clarity. This site in particular was only measuring 2ft clarity at the same time last year. In addition to great clarity, oxygen levels have also stabilized throu

8/28/25 Bacteria results are in! We had 3 sites fail this week: all on the South River. This is a test for enterococcus, an indicator of...

Hello everybody! My name is Sean, and this summer I’ve had the great privilege of working as the Education and Outreach intern for...

The Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement was originally signed in 2014 by leadership from the Bay States and DC. The Agreement...

Arundel Rivers Staff and DNR Partners process underwater grass in the SAV turbulator Grasses, bacteria, and public access... This summer,...

Arundel Rivers has been awarded five grants through the Anne Arundel County Watershed Restoration Grant Program

***UPDATE-July 14, 2015: Thank you to everyone who added their name to our letter urging the County to address the closure of the...

7/2/25 Bacteria results are in! We had 13 sites fail this week: 7 on the South River, 4 on the West and Rhode Rivers, and 2 on the...

6/26/25 Bacteria results are in! In total, there were 6 failing sites: 5 on the South River, 1 on the West and Rhode rivers, and 0 on the...