Choptank Riverkeeper

05/30/2026

We had a great time on our kayak expedition out of Denton this week, cruising up river and paddling around Chapel Branch - a new creek for me to explore. And it was beautiful! All summer long, shoreriversorg is offering free expeditions around the watershed - from kayak trips with your local Riverkeepers, to guided hikes, to tours of local gems. These expeditions are free thanks to a generous grant from the chesapeakebaytrust, and you can sign up at ShoreRivers.org/events

05/29/2026

This drought has taught us a lot about what our rivers could look like if we figured out how to control and eliminate runoff from our farms, towns, and yards - the biggest source of nutrient and bacteria pollution that make our rivers muddy, not safe to swim in, and unable to support a healthy fish and crab population. Nonpoint source pollution (runoff) takes an all-hands approach to reducing and eliminating fertilizers from our farms to our waterfront homes, maintaining septics and sewer systems, naturally buffering our wetlands, creeks and streams, or just simply watching the next time it rains and better understanding where’s water is flowing off your property and thinking about how you can slow, capture and infiltrate that rainwater.

An upside to drought? This year’s Chesapeake Bay “dead zone” could rank among the smallest on record, scientists predict. https://www.bayjournal.com/news/fisheries/researchers-look-for-a-smaller-dead-zone-in-the-chesapeake-bay-this-summer/article_a8526dcf-feb5-440c-a41c-134f29f12f84.html

05/29/2026

CHOPTANK RIVER BACTERIA REPORT 5/28:
This week, only 6 of 16 sites passed Maryland’s recreational water quality standard for Enterococci bacteria. Trappe Landing showed a major improvement, dropping from 4,374 CFU to 61 CFU and moving into the passing range. Highest results this week were at Two Johns Landing (520 CFU) and Kingston Landing (504 CFU).

We did receive rainfall in the days leading up to sampling, but it was slow and steady rather than heavy downpours. That matters. While we still saw several failing results, they were mostly moderate failures and not the extreme spikes in the thousands we sometimes see.

That pattern suggests the landscape had more time to absorb rainfall into the ground, rather than producing rapid runoff. With slower rainfall over a previously dry, drought-influenced landscape, more water likely infiltrated the soil instead of overwhelming stormwater and wastewater systems that often transport bacteria into the river. In contrast, short, intense storms tend to create flash runoff that drives much higher bacteria spikes.

One result worth noting: Bellevue Beach (106 CFU) narrowly missed passing, just above the 104 CFU standard.

📲 Swipe through the images for this week’s full results.
📍Weekly updates available at:
• Shorerivers.org/swim
• The app
• All ShoreRivers + Riverkeeper social media channels ( )

⚠️ SAFE SWIMMING REMINDERS ⚠️
• Avoid swimming for 24–48 hours after heavy rain
• Do not swim with open cuts or wounds
• Rinse off after swimming
• Watch for algal blooms, rough water, and other hazards
• Results above 104 CFU/100mL are considered failing under Maryland’s recreational water quality guidance

👉 Reminder: not all testing locations are designated swimming beaches. Please follow all posted rules and use caution when entering the water.

Huge thanks to our volunteer SwimTesters and site sponsors for making this program possible!

05/28/2026

Despite the rain and wind over the past few days, water clarity in the main Choptank held together great, recording 11.2’ of clarity at the mouth of the river! The clarity in other lower tributaries dropped to about 5-6’, but still good for this time of year. The salinity in the lower Choptank is 11-13 ppt, the dissolved oxygen was lower than in previous weeks, hovering around 5 mg/l - still not bad, and water temperatures are dancing around 70 degrees. Stay tuned for our bacteria results posted tomorrow, and here’s to hopefully a nice weekend on the river ahead. And here’s to Keith H. for sharing the great videos of the dolphins he saw yesterday around Todds Point! Don’t forget to log your dolphin sightings with the Chesapeake DolphinWatch app.

Join me in welcoming Faith to our team this summer! Faith is our intern for the summer, and is a native to the Eastern Shore. While she spends her college days in the marshes of Louisiana while attending LSU, she’s excited to spend the summer stomping around - monitoring, sampling, and protecting the marshes from her home watershed. Stay tuned for more updates from Faith’s summer work in my monthly Riverkeeper enewetter.

05/22/2026

SWIMMABLE SHORERIVERS IS BACK!
Our weekly bacteria monitoring program has officially returned for the 2026 season, helping provide the community - YOU, with timely water quality data so you can make informed decisions about where and when to safely swim, paddle, fish, and enjoy the Choptank River.

This week’s samples show a mixed start to the season, with 8 out of 16 sites passing the recreational water quality standard of 104 CFU/100mL for Enterococci bacteria. Trappe Landing recorded the highest bacteria level this week at 4,374 CFU/100mL, while Hambrooks Bay Beach had the cleanest reading at less than 10 CFU. Remember for this weekend that runoff can increase bacteria levels (read more tips below).

📲 Swipe through the images for this week’s full results.

📍Weekly updates available at:
• Shorerivers.org/swim
• The app
• All ShoreRivers + Riverkeeper social media channels ( )

⚠️ SAFE SWIMMING REMINDERS ⚠️
• Avoid swimming for 24–48 hours after heavy rain
• Do not swim with open cuts or wounds
• Rinse off after swimming
• Watch for algal blooms, rough water, and other hazards
• Results above 104 CFU/100mL are considered failing under Maryland’s recreational water quality guidance

👉 Reminder: not all testing locations are designated swimming beaches. Please follow all posted rules and use caution when entering the water.

A huge thank you to our volunteer SwimTesters and site sponsors who make this community science program possible each summer. Your support helps keep our communities informed and connected to the river.

05/20/2026

10 FEET of water clarity! That’s what we measured today in the lower Tred Avon and mainstem nearly - 1.5 “Dougs” deep using our very scientific unit of measurement: our extremely tall HR Director holding the Secchi disk rope.

And below that clear water? Life everywhere. Horned pondweed is thriving right now, creating underwater meadows packed with blue crabs, baitfish, terrapin… and even a skate gliding through the grass. Fun fact: skates are often confused with cownose rays, but skates show up in saltier water, they lay egg cases (“mermaid’s purses”) while cownose rays give live birth, and they have a much more pointed, wing-shaped body.

The river was showing off today:
• Dolphins surfacing in glass-calm water
• A cormorant gulping down an eel
• Dissolved oxygen looking strong at nearly every site except at Easton Point in the Tred
• Salinity around 11–12 ppt
• Water temps in the low 70s… officially SWIMMING TEMPS!

Speaking of swimming, tomorrow starts our bacteria monitoring program. Download the app today and follow your Riverkeepers social media pages ahead of results shared on Friday.

05/18/2026

Where are you seeing grasses in the water??

05/18/2026

Clear Water Warning: it’s so nice, sometimes you have to look twice!

“In my 63 years on that creek, I have NEVER seen it so clear,” one community member shared from Island Creek this weekend. Around the lower , people are reporting incredible water clarity, underwater grasses, schools of fish, and all kinds of life returning to the river.

This video from Boone Creek shows rockfish cruising through remarkably clear water, conditions we do not always get to experience this time of year. A combination of colder, drier months and years of restoration work, from oyster recovery to improvements in agricultural practices and wastewater management, may really be showing itself this spring.

Did you spot unusually clear water this weekend anywhere around the Choptank? Share your photos and locations in the comments for a feature.

📷: Coleman W.

05/10/2026

Have you ever seen horseshoe crab eggs? We found these in the Tred Avon River this morning along the shoreline. Come to find out female horseshoe crabs lay up to 100,000 pearly green-to-pink eggs during spring high tides. Only a small percentage of those eggs end up surviving though as they actually play an important role as critical food source for migratory shorebirds.

05/07/2026