Grantee

Chester River Association
Chestertown, MD

Grant amount

$30,000

About

Founded in 1986, the Chester River Association seeks to stop pollution of the Chester River and its tributaries, and advocates for the Chester River’s health and the living resources it supports.

Grant Objectives

This is the 3rd Rauch Foundation grant for the Chester River Association because the preservation of the Chester River is an ongoing effort. This particular grant will enable the Chester River Association to implement an advocacy plan to reduce pollution at the sites of four specific known polluters, and will help to begin an ongoing effort to improve the Kent County sewer and septic systems.

Process

The Chester River Association focuses on specific polluters. There may be as many as 15 at any given time. With a team of volunteers, the Chester River Association tests the river and its tributaries at various locations to determine where pollutants exist and their source(s). Based on the tests and some further research, the Chester River Association then meets with the polluters to explain the problem and works with them to implement solutions. In some cases, the Chester River Association works with local and regional government to put laws into effect or help enforce laws that already exist.

An Innovative Approach

The Chester River Association works proactively to maintain and improve the quality of the River and its surroundings. In addition to regularly testing the river at various points, they also routinely test tributaries for pollutants that might soon enter the stem of the Chester River. During one of these recent tests, volunteers found pollutants in a tributary that was coming from the fertilizers used by a local nursery. When Chester River Association team members approached the nursery with their findings, the nursery was happy to cooperate and agreed to change their irrigation methods and build holding ponds to solve the problem. They now have established a relationship with the Chester River Association and routinely work together in planning for prevention, including the idea to plant tubers in areas where nitrogen and phosphorous runoff was creating a problem. The tubers, in the form of turnips, helped to absorb the runoff, preventing it from getting to the Chester River.

The Chester River Association has also implemented proactive leadership roles in the area to the benefit of the community in addition to the Chester River itself. Just north of the river is an area rich with agriculture. This agricultural area produces high levels of nitrogen and suspended sediment, which impacts the Chester River. To prevent this, the Chester River Association hired a Conservation Planner to work directly with farmers who may be eligible for grants and other government incentives for complying with and implementing conservation and pollution-prevention efforts. By working with the farmers to address the environmental needs and have them participate in these programs, the Chester River Association has been able to preserve the quality of the Chester River and have a positive impact on the local farming community.

For more information about the Chester River Association visit www.chesterriverassociation.org .