(Source: The Charleston Gazette)By Paul J. Nyden, The Charleston Gazette, W.Va.
Jan. 17–Read the full report here
MORGANTOWN — After decades of pollution, Maryland state agencies have turned the North Branch of the Potomac River into a major recreational area and boon to local economic development.
The North Branch runs along the border between the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia and western Maryland.
Downstream Strategies, a Morgantown environmental consulting firm, released a report last month documenting local economic benefits from improving water quality in the river.
During the past 25 years, the North Branch changed from a river “you wouldn’t even want to wade in” to a high quality fishery hosting naturally reproducing trout and bass, the report states.
Improvements came after eight “dosers” were installed in 1992. These facilities add alkaline chemicals to the North Branch and its tributaries to counteract acid mine drainage from abandoned coal mines.
But ongoing remediation projects, initiated by Maryland state agencies, could be threatened within a few years if funding sources evaporate.
