It’s cold out on the Severn In April!
Yet, our intrepid Water Quality Teams were out braving the weather to get an early start on tracking conditions in the Severn River.
Evidence is mounting in the Creeks of Whitehall Bay that something untoward is developing – the beginnings of an algae bloom like the Mahogany Tide of 2020.
Our WQ Team certain found some disturbing indicators in Mill, Burley, Whitehall, Ridout and Meredith Creeks in April.
Nevertheless, Three cheers to WQ Team Members Emi, Kathryn, Art and Tom on a cold April 16 morning.
We all felt like it was ready to snow.
Despite the cold water, we’re finding a plenty of oxygen (well above 5 mg/L) everywhere.
That’s typical for this time of year.
A few key observations:
SRA’s Field Investigator Emi explains that the high percentage of dissolved oxygen means there is a “something” creating an overabundance of oxygen in the creek.
Emi suspects that “something” is likely the prorocentrum minimum algae that eventually creates the Mahogany Tide conditions that we saw last May in the Severn River system.
We’ll be keeping a close watch on conditions every week.
It’s thanks to your support of SRA that our WQ teams are able to keep an eye on your river and track conditions. To enable our WQ crew to continue this invaluable work, please considering donating to SRA by clicking here.