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Water Testing Database

A railroad trestle near a wastwater treatment plant and a testing site on the river

Water Testing

We can’t clean up our watersheds without benchmarking and identifying where there are problems. Citizen water testing raises awareness but also helps direct public attention and public willpower toward the root causes and known problems in our tributary. Patuxent Riverkeeper provides training and water testing kits to citizen monitors. A public web portal where water testing volunteers can post their results, compare their sampling data with others and empower themselves and others with knowledge about what and where the actual water quality impairments and sources of those impairments are, is presently being developed. Return to the top

Volunteers inspect a river blockage

Roughnecks Work Crews

Go on safari with the Roughnecks and become familiar with parts of the watershed others rarely get to see. The Roughnecks are a brand new volunteer work crew who tackle human and fish blockages in the Middle to Upper Patuxent River. The team is dedicated to improving fish passage, paddle navigability and establishing land trails that serve the Patuxent Greenway and the preserved space in the region. The teams use minimum impact techniques to achieve these goals in order to avoid injuring the ecosystem. Crew members get to see some of the more remote and pristine areas along the river, get exercise, learn new skills and get the satisfaction of completing physical work and seeing the tangible results. Return to the top

Volunteers transplanting tree seedlings

Riparian Tree Planting

Tree growth and vegetation are vital to stabilize the soils, filtering and retaining stormwater and protecting our shorelines from the ravages of the increasing human habitation of the Chesapeake Bay region. Patuxent Riverkeeper is partnered with Maryland’s Patuxent River Commission to maintain a tree nursery and a tree distribution network to ensure that public lands and waterfront areas can get high quality trees at no cost. The resources go further if we obtain the trees initially as bare root stock and then replant them in small pots so they can be stored and nurtured in our grow-out station. During planting seasons we work with teams of volunteers to get the seedlings into the ground in areas where they will do the most good. Planting trees is fun, good exercise, and comes with the satisfaction of planting a long term legacy of watershed stewardship too. Return to the top

Volunteers "get dirty" hauling illegally dumped waste from a trashy river site.

Annual Patuxent Cleanup

Riverkeepers work on watershed problems, (not just symptoms). While trash is a symptom of much deeper public and societal problems, dumped trash is one of the more unsightly and obvious signs of decay of our waterways, especially in heavily used public access areas. While many groups in the Patuxent River corridor run periodic cleanups, the Patuxent Riverkeeper coordinates the only river-wide annual cleanup event (each April) aimed at maintaining a tradition of an annual day of stewardship devoted solely to getting trash out of the Patuxent. The Riverkeeper is joined by scores of other partners to provide supplies, site supervision, promotional and other resources in an effort to make each year's cleanup bigger than the last. Our motto is: "To clean up a river, somebody has to get dirty!" News and information about the cleanup is posted on its own web site: www.cleanpatuxent.org Return to the top

Volunteers involved in public outreach at a Neighborhood festival

Office & Staff Work

Running a watershed organization that spans seven counties is a gargantuan task and it is made possible in countless ways by the dedicated work of volunteers and our tiny staff. Volunteers work in our office on research projects, help us staff booths at public events, help get mailings out, maintain our web sites, investigate complaints and more. In a very real sense, volunteers with Patuxent Riverkeeper form a nucleus of a watershed community that is close to the heart of the major issues and events facing the entire watershed. The work of Riverkeepers, is fast paced, interesting, fun, and always surrounded by the controversies and campaigns that are shaping the future of the Patuxent. It's also a chance to meet other people who share your love of the river and the environment. Return to the top

Volunteers help haul a vintage car from the river

Special Projects

We work on many different issues, projects and activities to preserve and restore the river. Pulling cars and large items out of the river, removing illegal dumps and other such projects. The funding for such efforts is always meager and therefore it is volunteers that always make it possible. We invite YOU to bring a prospective project to our attention, or better yet-- to join and help with a special river project in your neighborhood! Return to the top

View from a kayak on a Patuxent paddling expedition

River Guides

Starting in 2006, the Patuxent Riverkeeper will offer reasonably priced tours of portions of the Patuxent watershed by kayak and canoe. Fees from tours are used to support the work of the Riverkeeper organization. A list of possible day tours is provided on the Patuxent Tours page. The Riverkeeper relies on trained volunteers to help teach others to kayak and to help maintain safety on these trips. The Patuxent Riverkeeper each year, will train a number of guides with kayak rescue skills, first aid and how to convey to others more knowledge about the culture, folklore and history of the river. Guides become local "experts" on how to explore and enjoy the river safely. Return to the top