Riverkeeper

What is a Riverkeeper?

Riverkeepers work to protect the public’s right to clean water by:

Patrolling local waterways
Tracking down sources of pollution
Responding to citizen pollution complaints
Identifying problems that impact water quality
Advocate for environmental laws and regulations to ensure clean water

A Riverkeeper strives to be the voice of the water body that they work to protect, preserve, and restore. Riverkeepers advocate compliance with environmental laws, respond to citizen complaints, identify problems which affect their identified bodies of water and devise appropriate remedies to address these problems. Riverkeepers/waterkeepers can be found around the globe. There are currently 17 waterkeepers on the Chesapeake Bay.

Elle Bassett - South, West, and Rhode Riverkeeper

Our South, West, and Rhode Riverkeeper is a member of Waterkeepers Chesapeake on the regional level and Waterkeeper Alliance at the national and global level. Most importantly, Riverkeepers advocate compliance with environmental laws, respond to citizen pollution complaints, identify problems which affect their identified bodies of water and devise appropriate remedies to address these problems.

Riverkeeper Areas of Focus

Environmental Legislation

Tracking River Health

Community Advisors

Report a Problem

Riverkeeper News

August 2026 Riverkeeper Report

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"

Arundel Rivers Federation

5 days ago

July Riverkeeper Report

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

Arundel Rivers Federation

Jul 16

June 2026 Riverkeeper Report

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 Federation

Jun 18