The Chesapeake Bay and its rivers and streams are woven into Maryland's DNA. The water is part of our culture, our economy, our food and our recreation, and, of course, our environment and health.
Unfortunately, for decades Maryland's waters have been polluted by toxic runoff from over-development and agriculture, and its ecosystems harmed by overuse and poor management. This pollution can lead to fish kills, decline in important critters and plants, and destruction of the riverbed. As the pollution grows worse, the river becomes unsafe for swimming, fishing and boating. Our rivers carry polluted water into the Chesapeake Bay, where it causes large areas devoid of life.
Here is what the Sierra Club is doing. Pick an issue and get involved. We need your help!
Urgent, time-critical issue.
Help make sure the Monocacy River is cleaned up by implementing the Monocacy Scenic River Plan.
Reducing Stormwater Pollution
Stormwater pollution from development is the fastest growing source of pollution into the Chesapeake Bay.
Runoff is any water that flows across the surface of the land into a body of water. Runoff can flow into a ditch, a stream, a river or directly into an ocean or bay. To reduce this pollution, Maryland's counties are required to retrofit 20% of all impervious surface, such as roads and parking lots. We need your help to keep the pressure on the counties to hit this goal.
Charles County: Watershed Conservation District Victory
On Tuesday, June 6, 2017, the Charles County Board of Commissioners voted 3-2 to approve the establishment of the Watershed Conservation District (WCD), rezoning 36,000 acres of land in the Mattawoman Creek and Port Tobacco River watersheds to protect the low density of undeveloped areas within the WCD. The passage of these zoning amendments is a major victory in the Sierra Club’s almost 25 year-long campaign to save Mattawoman Creek.
Although this is great win for conservation efforts, the development lobby has already started their counter campaign by threatening a referendum. If we want to continue to push back against unsustainable sprawl, we will need to continue electing leaders who understand that environmental preservation should go hand-in-hand with economic development and who will work hard to make that happen.
Howard County: Flooding and Recovery in Ellicott City
To prevent future flooding events like that of July 2016, Howard County developed the Ellicott City Master Plan, which will address many issues with stormwater management within the city. However, this plan fails to address needed limitations on upstream development. Developers have continued to propose development plans even though further development of the rural and sensitive western county will only worsen current flooding issues by increasing the amount of impermeable surfaces contributing to runoff.
Get involved in this issue by attending Master Plan Workshops and telling the county upstream development must be seriously considered in this process.
Montgomery County: New Stormwater Management Programs
As Montgomery County continues to undergo further development, it has started up new programs to better manage growing stormwater runoff. Addressing this issue is especially pertinent in neighborhoods where high-density development has led to high rates of impervious coverage. GreenStreets and Rainscapes, two of the county’s new programs, tackle the problems from increased runoff by improving stormwater management in residential areas.
Protecting the Source and Maintaining Water Affordability
In October 2018, we released a report prepared for us by the EcoLogix Group: Protecting the Source and Maintaining Water Affordability. We released the report publicly and presented findings to stakeholders and the public on 10/25/18. You can view a pdf of the report here & the powerpoint presentation can be viewed here.
It is well known that forests and trees provide the first line of defense and foundation for protecting water quality and drinking water. When combined with effective treatment and spill prevention, protecting and increasing forest and tree canopy cover is a key element in the Multiple Barrier approach to public health protection for drinking water supplies. A new report, prepared by the EcoLogix Group for the Maryland Sierra Club, presents a review of data on the relationship between forest and tree canopy loss and stream health in three Montgomery County watersheds immediately upstream from the Potomac Water Filtration Plant water intake: Watts Branch; Muddy Branch; and Seneca Creek.
The report found a loss of tree canopy based on a review of data covering the period 2009-2014. A review of the literature confirms that forested areas are associated with the lowest sediment loadings per acre, and the highest stream biological ratings, compared with other land uses and land cover types. Conversely, within the Piedmont area of the Chesapeake Bay watershed where these watersheds are located, developed areas have been shown to account for a higher total sediment load than agriculture, even though they occupy a smaller area. The report also reviews the potential water quality benefits and numerous co-benefits of forest and tree canopy strategies, compared with two currently planned "gray infrastructure" solutions, at a combined cost of $240 million, for which debt payments would add 2.6% to current water rates. These are projects designed for the single purpose of handling sediment in the water treatment process, at a significant cost, which may make it easier to treat in the short term, but do not prevent or reduce pollution in the contributing watersheds.
Further data is needed in order to monitor and model the sediment pollution trends related to forest loss in the study area, to better quantify the relationship between land cover and sediment pollution trends. Further work is also needed to explore actual opportunities for forest and tree-canopy strategies within Montgomery County, as a basis for estimating actual costs, benefits, and co-benefits of these strategies for the County and for the mid-Potomac drinking water supply that serves the entire Washington Metropolitan Area.
Protecting Maryland's Forests: Updating the Forest Conservation Act
Trees are a vital part of our communities. They help filter our local waters, increase property values, reduce energy costs, provide clean air and wildlife habitat, and improve public health.
Unfortunately, Maryland's forests today are less than half of what they once were when our local waterways and the Chesapeake Bay were clean, healthy, and full of life. At a low estimate, Maryland’s forests are experiencing a continued forest loss of at least 4,000 acres a year. To achieve our clean water goals and meet our goal of no net loss of forests, the Forest Conservation Act needs strengthening.
We'll be working in 2018 to ensure Maryland does more to protect it's forests. If you'd like to help, fill out this survey. Then send a message to your legislators asking them to save Maryland Forests!
On 1/23/18 we hosted a webinar to explain the issue. Click here to watch the webinar! or download our slideshow presentation.
Scrap the Crap! Addressing Pollution from Poultry Poop
In Maryland, the agriculture sector is the largest source of polluted runoff into the Chesapeake Bay. And the poultry industry is the most active and the largest component of this. The poultry litter produced by the CAFOs on the Eastern Shore is applied to fields in loads far larger than what the crops and soil can effectively use and absorb.
Since November 2015, there have been 24 proposals for 120 new houses (600-foot structures that hold up to 35,000 birds each) in the Delmarva region. CAFOs also emit nitrogen and ammonia, which cause adverse health consequences such as asthma, bronchitis, and other respiratory illnesses, impacting not only the Bay, but the health of adjacent communities.