January 2014 

BayStat - click here!

What Can I Do?  

Cleaning supplies

Dispose of household items that contain corrosive, toxic, ignitable or reactive ingredients properly. Products, such as paints, cleaners, oils, batteries and pesticides, which contain potentially hazardous ingredients require special care when you dispose of them. Click here for more information on disposal in Maryland.

Bay Fact
White Perch  
In the upper Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries, white perch are an important recreational species. They are one of the Bay's most abundant fish, spending their entire lives there. The largest white perch caught in Maryland's portion of the Bay weighed 2.6 pounds.

 

Follow Eyes on the Bay on Twitter 

Follow @eyesonthebay on Twitter.  

More news

 

Chesapeake Bay Foundation: Stormwater a Growing Threat

  

High Nitrogen Still a Problem for the Bay

  

 
 
Quick Links

From the desk of...

Martin O'Malley, Governor of Maryland
Governor O'Malley
Recently, the Maryland Department of the Environment and Maryland Department of Natural Resources hosted the third annual Smart, Green & Growing (SGG) Clean Water Innovations Trade Show.  The event creates a dialogue between Maryland businesses and governments to learn about new technologies for reducing stormwater pollution and encourages them to work together on water quality issues.


This year, more than 300 people registered to attend the event, where we awarded the SGG award for Innovations in Stormwater Management.  The Parks and People Foundation won the award this year for their work at the New Broadway East Community Park.


Attendees at the event were able to meet with a variety of vendors, including manufacturers of pollution control devices, new green roof technologies, and pervious paver systems.  The trade show also featured nurseries that grow plants for rain gardens as well as wetland treatment systems.


Urban and suburban stormwater pollution accounts for 18 percent of the pollution into our rivers, streams, lakes, and drinking water reservoirs.  The trade show was the culmination of MDE's Stormwater Innovations Tour, a campaign that highlighted stormwater pollution reduction projects implemented by private citizens, communities, local governments, and non-profits statewide.


New ideas and innovations are on the horizon and all Marylanders benefit when the public and private sectors work together to protect our natural resources.  We must shift the spotlight from rain and instead focus on keeping our landscape clean and directing runoff into areas where the water can soak into the ground.  As a result, we will continue to eliminate erosion and stop pollution from entering our waterways.  Together, we can work to ensure that our natural resources are not just here for Maryland today, but are here for our great State in the future.

 

 

 

Sincerely,


Governor Martin O'Malley's signature

Eyes on the Bay Water Quality Website   
The recent Polar Vortex highlighted an interesting tool on the Eyes on the Bay website: you can view ice cover on the Chesapeake Bay through the satellite imagery page. (For a particularly interesting view of the ice, choose the image from January 8, 2014.) Follow other updates and pictures from the field via Eyes on the Bay Twitter and Facebook accounts

 

BayStat Update

A BayStat meeting was not held in December; meetings will begin again this month.

Explore and Restore your SchoolShed Updates   
TrainingTeachers and other interested citizens can make a difference in Maryland waters through the Stream Waders Program. Volunteers agree to participate in a one-day training session and then spend two more days during the March-April sampling window, collecting aquatic invertebrate samples from their local stream beds. To register for a training session or to receive more information, email [email protected].
Read more...

Your Government at Work
Trade Show
Agencies Partner to Accelerate Green Stormwater Controls The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Maryland Department of Environment and Prince George's County recently announced the Prince George's County Urban Stormwater Retrofit Public-Private Partnership Demonstration Pilot, a $100 million initiative. This program will demonstrate how community-based, public-private partnerships can spur green infrastructure-driven stormwater controls while creating thousands of local jobs and boosting economic growth. Read more... 
Chesapeake BayBoard of Public Works Approves Funding for Clean Water and the Chesapeake Bay
The Maryland Board of Public Works approved more than $2 million in funding to operate and maintain 18 sewage treatment plants across the State and eliminate combined sewer overflows in the town of Federalsburg in Caroline County while improving its water system.
Read more...
CoastSmartMaryland Grants & New Tool Available for Coastal Hazard Preparedness
The State is offering CoastSmart Communities grants to help local governments improve their ability to respond to coastal threats such as storm surge, flooding and sea level rise. To further assist communities in this effort, DNR has launched the CoastSmart Communities Scorecard, a new tool for local governments to evaluate their hazard preparedness. Read more...
Rio Maryland Shares Bay Best Practices With Brazil

Last month, Governor O'Malley signed an agreement with Rio de Janeiro Governor Sergio Cabral Filho to share best practices for keeping the Chesapeake Bay and Rio's Guanabara Bay clean, healthy and sustainable. The agreement will bring Maryland's three decades of experience in restoring the Chesapeake to Rio to help them improve water quality in time for the 2016 Olympics.  Read more...

TEAMVolunteers Needed to Educate Students on the Chesapeake Bay  

DNR invites adults interested in teaching elementary and middle-school students about Maryland's natural environment to become a part of TEAM, Teaching Environmental Awareness in Maryland. Read more...

Ice BreakerDNR Provides Winter Ice Breaking Operations
DNR will have four boats available this winter to break up ice on the Bay and its tributaries. The cleared passageways allow for watermen, tug boat and barge captains, and marine crews to continue work through the season. DNR encourages all commercial watermen to move their vessels near planned ice breaking passageways or Natural Resources Police patrol boat stations prior to freezing conditions. Read more...
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