Member Highlight: ShoreRivers
For this Member Highlight, the Coalition's Maryland State Lead, Marisa Olszewski had a discussion with Annie Richards, Chester Riverkeeper at ShoreRivers. The two had a conversation about Annie’s role as a Riverkeeper and the important water monitoring programs ShoreRivers provides.
Where is your organization located?
The Eastern Shore of Maryland contains some of the most rural landscapes in the state. Within the region there are nine counties, a total coverage of 3,000 square miles, and nearly 5,000 miles of shoreline along it’s rivers and the Chesapeake Bay.
ShoreRivers Waterkeepers team in the Annapolis during Maryland's General Assembly Session. Left to right: Ben Ford, Annie Richards, Matt Pluta, Zack Kellher.
What is a Riverkeeper?
Riverkeeper is an organization focused on the health and vitality of the Chester, Choptank, Sassafras, Miles, and Wye rivers, as well as the Eastern Bay and the Bayside Creek. They provide a voice for their rivers through advocacy, enforcement, outreach, and water quality monitoring, in order to work toward a vision of clean waterways. Riverkeepers are also independently licensed members of Waterkeepers Alliance, an international organization. In addition to Annie serving as the Chester Riverkeeper, ShoreRivers also employs Ben Ford, Miles-Wye Riverkeeper, Matt Pluta, Choptank Riverkeeper, and Zack Kellher, Sassafras Riverkeeper.
Locations of the different water monitoring ShoreRivers manages annually.
Water Quality Monitoring:
An important issue Riverkeepers oversee is water quality monitoring for their rivers. Across the Eastern Shore, ShoreRivers manages 67 tidal water quality monitoring stations, 52 sites monitored for bacteria, seven tidal water quality stations, and 19 healthy beach sites. The data monitoring provided can be used to inform the public about the health of the river, the safety of swimming and recreating, as well as enforcing limits on pollution entering the river. April through October, Annie is out on the Chester River collecting samples to better understand what’s happening with the river. With a monitoring program based on scientific protocols and reviewed for quality assurance, the data collected are useful to state and federal agencies.
With the long-term, ongoing monitoring program, ShoreRivers can compare the data they collect annually to a ten-year average. This helps to reveal changes in water quality that occur over the course of many years.
ShoreRivers also uses their monitoring data to inform both advocacy and enforcement actions. By monitoring the water quality downstream of the plant’s discharge, ShoreRivers noticed both high bacterial counts and concerning PFAS levels in the water. The plastic manufacturer then applied for a new permit, for which ShoreRivers requested a public hearing. This is an ongoing effort, but it highlights the advocacy and leadership ShoreRivers provides through their Riverkeepers program.
Annie Richards, Waterkeeper for the Chester River heading out for water monitoring.
Annie on being a member of the Coalition:
"Throughout my time as a Riverkeeper, I credit any success to the power of partnerships with both our community members and with our fellow environmental advocates. When these forces combine, our collective voice is stronger, more authentic, and longer lasting for the betterment of our waterways. CCWC offers a focused and empowering space for environmental partners to share ideas, make connections (and new friends!), and build consensus. I am very grateful for it.”
Our Coalition is grateful for members like Shore Rivers and all other members who are working in partnership to achieve clean and healthy waterways throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
