Keeping Rivers Safe For Swimmers

Lush Severna Park lawns this spring are due, in part, to the 96% higher than average precipitation for the month of May. February and April rainfall registered above average as well, and that was coming off a winter of higher snowfall than usual. That extra water might make yards and flowers thrive, but it also means higher than average runoff into local waterways, specifically the bacteria and chemicals swept up in the flow to the Magothy and Severn rivers.

That gunk gets deposited into waterways via runoff systems and can make river swimming unsafe. Add that temperature projections call for a warmer than usual summer, and there’s a recipe for illnesses brewing right in our backyards.

Maryland has 3,190 miles of shoreline, and many organizations are constantly surveying the state’s coasts and waters, checking on water quality for either swimability or to watch the water’s health for sustaining aquatic life. Two local organizations are the Magothy River Association and Operation Clearwater, run by Anne Arundel Community College.

Sally Hornor, vice president of the Magothy River Association, who also led Operation Clearwater for 28 years, said, “We are certainly weather dependent. Last year was really a drought year, so we didn’t have nearly as many problems with bacteria, but it is certainly true that rainfall is the single biggest predictor of bacterial water quality in all of our tributaries.”

Potential illnesses from fecal bacteria include stomach issues and nausea, flu-like symptoms, ear infections, and even loss of limb or death should the bacteria get into the bloodstream through any opening in the skin.

“Everybody thinks, and I used to think before looking into it and years of studying our water, that high bacteria levels in our water were due to failing septic systems and our problems were of human origin,” Hornor added. “But I’ve come to understand that unsafe bacteria levels are due to stormwater runoff rich in fecal waste washing into our waterways.”

Anne Arundel Community College students from Operation Clearwater constantly test water quality for bacteria from mid-May through mid-August.

“We here in Anne Arundel County are truly water-oriented communities. Residents are shocked to see how high bacteria levels are after rainfall and they rightly want to know why,” Hornor said. “We’ve been able to establish that the primary reason is domestic pet waste and wildlife waste, and regular testing has been very impactful. People see mud going into our waterways, but they don’t see the nutrients, the chemicals and bacteria. Years of testing shows how truly polluted our water can be.”

Experts agree that residents need to remember they do not have to own waterfront property to be part of runoff issues. Stormwater runoff takes place everywhere. Storm drains quickly remove standing water in neighborhoods and swiftly direct it into our water. Any rainfall, even as little as an inch of rain, can be dangerous. Residents must pick up after their pets when out walking or even in their own backyards, on the water or far inland.

Jesse Iliff, executive director for the Severn River Association, added that converting lawns to different land uses filled with deep-rooted native plants and trees will also have a positive impact on bacteria in local waters.

“First, pick up after pets, absolutely, but avoiding fertilizing lawns is also critical,” Iliff said. “Our lawns are only marginally better than an impervious surface, like our driveways, in terms of filtering bacteria and other contaminants from our water.”

Don Curtian, director of environmental health with the Anne Arundel County Department of Health, said that Anne Arundel tests 13 community beaches along the Magothy and 23 along the Severn. Based on decades of data, the county is confident with a preemptive standing warning telling residents not to enter local rivers for at least 48 hours after rainfall.

The 48-hour threshold represents the lifespan of bacteria from fecal waste; however, open cuts can get infected for much longer.

“Immuno-compromised, the very young, the very old, and pregnant women need to be cautious about swimming in the river,” Curtian said. “No one with an open cut should swim until it is healed, and everyone should take a very good shower with soap following a swim.”

A Beach Swim Guide is accessible at www.aahealth.org under the Environmental Health section’s Recreational Water Quality link that provides real-time water quality reports.

“If we make a healthier river, our river will keep us healthier because our recreational contact with it will be less risky,” Iliff added. “The seafood we eat from it will be healthier.”

The Severn River Association aspires to have a thriving Severn River by 2050.

“We’ve got a good strategy in place for how to get there, and I do believe that it is possible,” Iliff said. “When I think of a thriving Severn River, I think of a time when we don’t have to have conversations about whether it’s safe to swim or not. We don’t hear headlines about a fisherman getting a small cut on his finger and losing his hand. And we see fishermen actually pulling in fish that are as big and healthy as the stories they tell later.”

Residents living along the Magothy River can contact Tammy Domanski with Operation Clearwater and residents along the Severn River can contact Illif to determine if their beach is currently being tested, or to volunteer. Testing is voluntary and must be requested.