Health Of Magothy Report Shows Continued Decline

By Darrell Mak
It was the lowest grade possible, short of failing. The beleaguered health of the Magothy River fell to an all-time low in 2010 with an index score of 22 percent, equivalent to a D grade, according to the latest report presented by the Magothy River Association at its annual State of the Magothy meeting on February 16 at Anne Arundel Community College.

“Enjoyment of the Magothy for residents today and for future generations depends on us reversing the river’s failing grades,” said Paul Spadaro, president of the Magothy River Association. “We can and will become better stewards.”
The Magothy River Index represents the percentage of restored health of the river, with 100 percent meaning the river’s health has been fully restored. The Association has been calculating the index since 2002. It peaked in 2004 at 65 percent, coinciding with a bloom of false dark mussels in the Magothy River, which scientists attributed to Tropical Storm Isabel. Their presence was short lived, however, and the river’s health has been declining steadily ever since.
The Magothy River Index is based on three components of aquatic health: the levels of submerged aquatic vegetation, water clarity, and dissolved oxygen. The three components are strongly correlated to each other.
Vegetation, which helps produce dissolved oxygen and provides a habitat for plants and fish, requires ample water clarity to absorb sunlight to grow, and fish and shellfish require adequate levels of dissolved oxygen to survive.
The quantity of submerged aquatic vegetation deteriorated significantly last year with less than two acres of the grasses in the river remaining, down from 12 acres in 2010 and from a recent high of 308 acres in 2005. The latest level of vegetation is less than one percent of MRA’s goal for the river.
After years of persistently planting new aquatic vegetation in hopes of sparking growth, the association, last year, decided to suspend that operation due to the sharp declines in existing vegetation and water clarity. Thus concluding the river could not sustain the new grasses.
Dr. Paul Bergstrom, a Magothy River Association volunteer who also works for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, provided more details of the factors affecting the Index. He reported failing water clarity in the river, rating it below 20 percent. Dissolved oxygen, the third component of aquatic health, varied with some parts of the river faring better than others.
Bergstrom, who rated the river’s dissolved oxygen at around 50 percent, reported the 2010 health status included data from six additional sites - including Mill Creek and Dividing Creek for the first time - raising the number of sites sampled to 16. Unfortunately, the sites along Mill Creek had the worst dissolved oxygen readings and were tied with the Dividing Creek sites for the worst clarity status.
Despite another year of bad news, Spadaro’s enthusiasm and mission to restore the Magothy River continue unabated.
“We cannot sit back and assume someone else will heal the river,” warned Spadaro. “Working together, we can restore our river.”