water quality – Jay's Real Estate Blog

Despite some concerns, Deep Creek Lake relatively healthy

Elaine Blaisdell
The Cumberland Times-News Wed Nov 16, 2011, 11:30 PM EST

OAKLAND — Despite some issues, three years of data show Deep Creek Lake is healthy, John Griffin, secretary of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources said Tuesday.

“(The lake has) good water quality, diverse plant and animal life and a moderate load of nutrients. That’s not to say there aren’t some areas of concern,” Griffin said during a public meeting in Oakland.

Those concerns include an invasive aquatic plant known as Eurasian water milfoil, the deaths of about 1,000 fish last year, deepening sediment in some coves and low water levels.

“I think we our on the verge of a new era,” Griffin said. “Generally the lake is healthy and we want to keep it that way and that means we need to develop a much more prominent relationship with everyone with the county and the town of Friendsville to keep it the way it is and solve some of these problems so they don’t become major problems.”

Nicole Christian, president and CEO of the Garrett County Chamber of Commerce, wants the state to help promote a positive image of the lake, noting that a negative portrayal could have an effect on tourism and real estate.

“We need you guys to help to spread the message that the lake is in good health because, right now, the only message that is out there is about sewage spills, fish kills, that the lake is in poor health or sediment is filling it in,” said Christian. “Not that there aren’t issues, but we need to handle those issues here locally working with our partners. We don’t really need that battle fought in the media.”

Sixteen sites are used to monitor lake conditions and the water is tested and sampled during all seasons, said Bruce Michael, the DNR’s director of resource assessment. The agency is establishing a water treatment program that will assess trends in data and look at potential impacts of development and land use changes.

“We want to make sure we assess the health of the lake at these potential impacts,” Michael said.

During the public comment portion of the meeting, Friendsville Mayor Spencer Schlosnagle, Councilman Jess Whittemore and Charlie Walbridge of American Whitewater spoke about the importance of lake levels to the whitewater rafting businesses in Friendsville.

Griffin said recreation on the lake is important and that one of DNR’s goals is to continue to preserve the lake and maintain it as a recreational and economic asset for the county and the state.

Contact Elaine Blaisdell at eblaisdell@times-news.com.

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Study: fee boost could keep Md. trout river clean

OAKLAND, Md. (AP) – A study concludes that anglers and boaters are willing to pay more to keep the North Branch of the Potomac River running clean.

The $40,000 study by Downstream Strategies of Morgantown, W.Va., was delivered Friday to state regulators by the Maryland State Water Quality Advisory Committee.

Federal, state and Garrett County agencies ordered the report to address an expected loss of government operating funds for eight machines that regularly dispense lime into the river and its tributaries to counteract acid drainage from abandoned coal mines.

Researchers found that river users are willing to pay higher trout stamp fees or donate to a restoration fund to maintain the $321,000 annual cost of the lime dosers.

Read the full article here.

(Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
OAKLAND, Md. (AP) – A study concludes that anglers and boaters are willing to pay more to keep the North Branch of the Potomac River running clean.

The $40,000 study by Downstream Strategies of Morgantown, W.Va., was delivered Friday to state regulators by the Maryland State Water Quality Advisory Committee.

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DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT ISSUES 23 ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS

States News Service
States News Service
October 7, 2010
The following information was released by the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE):

The Maryland Department of the Environment today announced 23 recent major enforcement actions seeking penalties totaling more than $460,000 for alleged violations of MDE requirements for water, air and radiation management, and land.

“The Maryland Department of the Environment’s top priority is to protect public health and our environment, and a consistent baseline of enforcement actions prevents further pollution and risks to public health,” said MDE Secretary Shari T. Wilson. “The vast majority of Maryland businesses that are in compliance deserve to have environmental laws fairly applied across the board.”

Water Pollution Enforcement Actions

Title 9 of the Environment Article prohibits the discharge of any pollutant into waters of the State, unless such discharge is in compliance with the terms, conditions, and requirements of a discharge permit.

Earth disturbances that exceed one acre are required to obtain a Permit for Stormwater Discharges Associated with Construction Activity from MDE. The Permit requires that an approved erosion and sediment control plan be obtained and implemented and that self-monitoring inspections occur and that a log of such inspections be maintained….

…Synergics Wind Energy, Roth Rock Wind Power Project – Garrett County: On August 25, 2010, MDE issued a Site Complaint and Stop-Work Order to Synergics Wind Energy, LLC and their contractor, White Construction, Inc., for alleged sediment control violations at the Roth Rock Wind Power construction project. The Order required that all work cease except that necessary to implement the approved erosion and sediment control plan. The Stop-Work Order was subsequently lifted on September 9, 2010, following an MDE inspection that confirmed the site had returned to compliance.

Read the rest here.

If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

Deep Creek Lake residents complain of overgrown algae

DEEP CREEK LAKE, Md. – After complaints from several Deep Creek Lake residents about algae blooms and overgrowth, state environmental regulators have investigated and found that the problems are not caused by excessive nutrients in the watershed.

Some residents believed that the blooms and aquatic grasses were due to an overload of nutrients, but state officials have determined that nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorous are only at low levels in the streams and creeks that feed the reservoir.

Read the rest here.

If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

Deep Creek tributaries free of water quality issues, MDE says

Citizens group questions sample location, size
Megan Miller
Cumberland Times-News Sun Sep 19, 2010, 08:02 AM EDT

— DEEP CREEK LAKE — While Deep Creek Lake might have water quality issues with nutrients levels in some of its coves, those problems don’t appear to be flowing in with the streams that feed the lake.

That’s according to a report released in mid-August from the Maryland Department of the Environment. Officials outlined the report’s findings Thursday in a meeting of the Deep Creek Lake Workgroup.

Lake-goers have complained of algae blooms and overgrowth of aquatic grasses in some coves, pointing to an overload of nutrients such as phosphorous as a potential cause.

But the data examined by MDE showed that in the watershed, meaning the waterways outside the body of the lake, nutrients including nitrogen and phosphorous are present only in low levels.

“We’re not saying it’s not impaired,” said Ross Mandel, an official with the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin. “We’re just saying it’s not impaired by nutrients.”

Not everyone agreed with MDE’s assessment of the situation. Barbara Beelar, director of local conservation group Friends of Deep Creek Lake, pointed out that MDE looked at data gathered in only a few of the dozens of tributaries feeding Deep Creek Lake.

“I’m concerned about the blanket statement that there is no nutrient impairment of the watershed,” Beelar said. “It’s only four tributaries out of fifty-ish you’ve taken a look at.”

She pointed out that most of the streams sampled feed into the northern part of the lake, while nutrient-related problems seem more concentrated in the southern part.

The report looked at the watershed as a whole, and also looked separately at the overall water quality of the lake. It contained data collected by MDE and the Department of Natural Resources at different periods over the last decade.

MDE officials say they plan to proceed from this point with studies of any existing problems in the lake from a more localized approach. An MDE field monitoring group will conduct water quality monitoring and other testing through the upcoming months, and could potentially conduct dye tests on septic systems in the lake area — with the permission of property owners — in the spring.

Septic systems are one of the potential sources of phosphorous, along with things like crop fertilizers and animals in pastureland.

Another assessment of the health of Deep Creek Lake is scheduled to be released sometime in the next few months.

Friends of Deep Creek Lake plans to publish the lake’s first-ever ecosystem health report card with the help of EcoCheck, a team affiliated with the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The report card will factor in things like land-use patterns, watershed boundaries and available data from testing conducted by multiple agencies. In addition to “grading” the lake, the report card will include suggestions of things property owners can do to improve the watershed’s scores.

If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

Category: water quality

Despite some concerns, Deep Creek Lake relatively healthy

Study: fee boost could keep Md. trout river clean

DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT ISSUES 23 ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS

Deep Creek Lake residents complain of overgrown algae

Deep Creek tributaries free of water quality issues, MDE says

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