With Elle sampiere, Surfer, and content creator that hosts all womens surf coaching trips.
There is some encouraging news for Maryland lawns this week.
After several weeks dominated by drought concerns, the latest U.S. Drought Monitor shows additional improvement across portions of the Mid-Atlantic. While Moderate to Severe Drought remains across much of Central Maryland and Extreme Drought continues on parts of the Eastern Shore, recent rainfall has helped replenish soil moisture and slow the progression of drought in many locations.
This week’s Lawn Health Index remains at 48 out of 100 (Fair). Conditions continue to improve, but long-term rainfall deficits and summer stress are preventing a more significant jump.
Record-breaking water temperatures likely contributed to a fish kill in the Potomac River near Seneca, where Maryland environmental officials recorded an extraordinary 94-degree water temperature following days of extreme heat across the region.If I'm reading the map right, this fish kill occurred up in the riverine Potomac, above Great Falls. I'm not sure I understand their argument about the summer turnover event. However, it was really hot for a few days there.
The Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) confirmed the fish kill in a social media post, saying, “We’re aware of reports of a fish kill in the Potomac River near Seneca. Our biologist recorded water temperatures at a record 94°F. This can trigger a summer turnover event, when layered warm and cold water suddenly mix and oxygen-poor water rises to the surface, stressing fish.”
Although the fish kill occurred in Montgomery County, the Potomac River flows south along the borders of Charles and St. Mary’s counties before emptying into the Chesapeake Bay, making the conditions noteworthy for residents, anglers and boaters throughout Southern Maryland.
The fish kill follows several days of dangerous heat across Maryland and the Mid-Atlantic. Air temperatures climbed into the upper 90s and low 100s across much of the state, with parts of Montgomery County reaching about 100 degrees and nearby Washington, D.C., reaching 102 degrees during the recent heat wave.
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State officials have not announced how many fish were affected or identified the species involved.
Which, as near as I can figure out translates to Chicken in Water from Thai. Is it a clever pun? I'd like to think so.
The Potomac River got top billing in large part due to the massive sewage spill that dumped over 230 million gallons of raw sewage into the river in January. But even if the spill had never happened, the Potomac would have made the top 10, according to Potomac Riverkeeper Network President Betsy Nicholas.
"We were already under discussions about having it as part of the top 10 endangered rivers at the end of last year," Nicholas told News4 on Tuesday. "So we were gathering information based primarily on the impact of water withdrawals, and then water quality concerns, about data centers."
The American Rivers list cites the "rapid, unchecked buildout of data centers" in the D.C. area as "a significant and growing threat" to the Potomac. Nicholas says data centers use a lot of water for cooling super-sensitive computers and chips. The more data centers there are, the more water is pulled from local water sources, like the Potomac. "As much as maybe 2 to 4 million gallons a day of water could be used for cooling," Nicholas told News4.
Queen's Escape, Anne Gumiran 𝐃𝐈𝐕𝐄 + 𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐋𝐒 🧜♀️🏝🌏 ➳ Advocate, Storyteller, Freediver, Adventurer
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With help from Rodelio Tabotabo:
After nearly a week, since a section of the Potomac Interceptor sewer line collapsed along Clara Barton Parkway, DC Water reported it's close to fully containing the overflow. DC Water built a temporary bypass system after 72 inches of the 54-mile sewer line collapsed on the evening of Jan 19, causing sewage water to run into the Potomac River. On Sunday, the company said that in the first full day of operation since the bypass was activated, the flow of wastewater increased by about 40 million gallons per day. Almost back to its normal 60 million gallons per day average. Despite this, some of the wastewater continues to escape around the break site. While the bypass is operating, crews will begin excavation, inspection, and develop a long-term repair plan. It is unclear what the timeline of that will be.The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: Extra Value Meal ready for your clicks at The Other McCain.
While DC Water is working on ways to permanently fix the leak, the Potomac Riverkeeper Network (PRKN) released the results of its testing of the contaminated water from last week's sewage spill. According to its report, the data shows a "far worse impact than originally contemplated." The president of PRKN, Betsy Nicholas, announced on Monday, "These measurements of E.coli bacteria show contamination which is nearly 12,000 times what authorities limit for human contact. And so far, almost 300 million gallons have entered the Potomac River. The long term impact cannot be overstated. We measured against the standards established by Virginia’s Department of Environmental Quality and Maryland’s Department of the Environment. We were able to get this information thanks to the real-time testing done on Friday, January 23 by Dean Naujoks, Potomac Riverkeeper, and Evan Quinter, PRKN Volunteer Coordinator on Friday.”
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With Joy Noval
Over the course of a year, said Chief Administrative Officer Odie Donald II, Richmond has gone from a snow-induced water crisis that had the city “upside down on its ear” to a facility that withstood unusually early snow without even making the newspaper. “That’s a good thing,” Donald said as he recapped his first impressions of the city government Mayor Danny Avula hired him to run. “That’s learning from our mistakes and being prepared. While those things mostly go unnoticed, they haven’t by me.”
One year after a catastrophic power failure at Richmond’s water plant that left residents without drinkable tap water for nearly a week, city leaders are cautiously confident they’ve made many of the necessary changes to make a repeat crisis far less likely.
In an interview at City Hall, Avula said that after what he went through at the plant a year ago just a few days after becoming mayor, he felt “a little bit of PTSD” when he recently went back. But what he saw on that site visit, the mayor said, was vastly different from what the facility looked like last Jan. 6, when a power interruption led to major flooding that knocked out critical equipment needed to keep clean water flowing.
