Patapsco River in Brooklyn Reopened
 

Anne Arundel County Department of Health
Recreational Water Quality Alert
Anne Arundel County, Maryland
Department of Health
3 Harry Truman Parkway
Annapolis, MD 21401


Patapsco River in Brooklyn Reopened

May 21, 2012 -- The Anne Arundel County Department of Health has reopened the Patapsco River in Brooklyn, Maryland, from Annapolis Road downstream. The Department had ordered an emergency closing and warned against swimming and other direct water contact due to a Baltimore County pumping station sewage spill on March 25. Based on sample results from the Baltimore County Department of Health, the Patapsco River water quality has returned to its acceptable levels.

For more information on Anne Arundel County recreational waterway closures and advisories, visit www.aahealth.org or call the Water Quality Line, 410-222-7999.

Break out the swim trunks and inner tubes:D.
5th (Marty)

That water will still give you one heck of a brown tan....

Yesterday the water in Deep Creek (off the Magothy) SMELLED like a sewage plant......and the water is still icky brown.:mad:


Saw a lot of dead crabs and dead Perch up against the bulkhead....not good.

Heard a big fish kill on Furnace creek / Marley creek just happened.

Both flow into Curtis bay - then Patapsco.

Saw about a dozen dead white perch behind our house on the Magothy.. :(

My swimming days are over in the bay and rivers. That's sad because I never saw a pool the first 10 years of my life! Now I swim in the back yard...............Gary

This Shad, (at least I THINK it is a Shad) washed up under the pier at Lake Claire a few days ago.....pretty big fish. That's a size 15 shoe next to it. :D

My son and his buddy were kayaking in the Magothy yesterday. Today his buddy is at the doctors because he cut his foot and now has an infection. He has a red stripe up his leg and fever with it. They are putting him on anti-biotics and to see another doctor tomorrow :mad:

Oh my son had to have a lymphnode surgically removed 4 years ago due to an infection he got swimming in the bay.

The pollution and the problems revolving around it have us thinking we may need to move to a better location where our children can grow up and actually safely enjoy the environment around them...

Greg; Sorry to hear about your son's buddy. Sounds like it could possibly be vibro infection. Glad he got to the Dr. in time. I hope he has a quick recovery.
I have been tracking the numbers for the Chesapeake Bay Interactive Buoy System and the poor numbers that were associated with the Patapsco have now reached the Annapolis Buoy. The Gooses Buoy has the best local numbers at the present time.
5th (Marty)

Marty, are there any tips you have for finding safer waters to swim? ie. below a certain temp, head waters of rivers?, etc?

Went out north of the bridge on the western side last night for a couple of hours...All I got for my trouble was one small striper and two lure stealing rays...:(

Only saw one floater, so at least that was better...I am guessing a few more days will be needed to get the O2 back up and the algae to decline....Of course the temps are not going to help or the lack of freshwater...

I hope this awesome spring start does not turn into a poor summer....

Greg; unfortunately, I have no tips for finding better water. I was out today (just to run the boat and charge the batteries) and the water temp in the Sandy Point basin was 81.5* and the bay temp was 75.
You are swimming (paddleing, tubing, jetskiing) in a "soup" of organisms. The ones we are really worried about are Mycobacteria (causes the sores on fish), MERSA, and vibro.
Even the headwaters of the creeks are polluted. Some scientists say from pet waste:eek:. The fact that the city and counties are dumping raw sewage into the bay in this day of age is unbelievable.
Without getting into politics (heaven knows neither the repubs or dems are doing anything significant) we look like a third world country. I had to step into the water to retreive my boat a SP today, and I must admit, I was a bit hesitant. I have a scrape on my leg from a couple days ago and it's scabed over, but I washed it pretty good when I got home. I never used to think twice about getting in the bay, but now I do.
When I gave my Power Point to the Pasadena Sportfishing Group, they left in a somber mood. The sewage had already been dumped, the Patapsco was looking nasty, and several days later, the fish kill was reported.

I certainly HOPE the water quality gets better soon. The "mahogany tide"; which adds to depleted O2, should disapate, the water should be getting better. I keep watching the interactive buoys and it appears the O2 problem is headed south to the Annapolis Buoy:mad:.
Gooses reef buoy is still reporting decent numbers. Maybe the fishing will be better down there again this summer. Last year the upper bay was very fresh, this year it may struggle to keep O2 levels in the correct range.
I will be putting my boat in Bodkin Creek next week and will keep reporting on the upper bay fishing and water quality.
Stay Safe
5th (Marty)