Boyce, VA – Summer is here and Shenandoah Riverkeeper and Waterkeeper Alliance have made finding and enjoying that perfect stretch of river a snap. The launch of the Swim Guide, a  free smartphone app (available from App Store, Google Play, or www.theswimguide.org) gives  you the tool to find that perfect swimming hole of fishing spot right at your fingertips.

On March 15, 2013, Potomac Riverkeeper filed a Clean Water Act complaint in federal court in Maryland to stop ongoing sewage discharges from Deer Lodge Mobile Home Park (Park) located in Washington County, MD. This complaint was filed after six months of inaction by both the State of Maryland Department of the Environment and the mobile home park to remedy the pollution entering a local creek.

Shepherdstown, WV -- Potomac Riverkeeper has found that facilities in West Virginia that discharge pollution into the Potomac River often follow standards that are weaker than Maryland’s. This is significant because Maryland has jurisdiction over the Potomac River. In an attempt to require West Virginia discharge permits to be more protective of water quality, Potomac Riverkeeper is filing an administrative appeal of one such permit.

ANNAPOLIS, MD - The Maryland Court of Special Appeals ruled earlier this week that a coalition of local and national river advocacy groups have standing to challenge a major stormwater pollution permit in court.

At issue is a state-issued pollution discharge permit for Montgomery County’s 499-square mile stormwater system. Clean water groups contend the permit allows ongoing harm to water quality and human health due to excessive discharges of pollutants and trash into the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers watersheds.

Some keepers are scientists who contract with government agencies to study water, often under a baking sun.

Wheeling, WV – December 7, 2012 – A coalition of local and national public interest organizations have asked a federal court for permission to participate in a legal action that will decide when Clean Water Act restrictions apply to the release of pollutants in animal manure into local waterways used for recreation, drinking and to support nearby communities.

Am I the only person who enjoys looking at water?

Well, that’s a trick question because I already know that the answer is NO. You might be someone who cranes your neck when driving over a bridge just to see what the creek looks like underneath. Or someone who seeks water on your vacation. Or you would love to own (or do own) riverfront property. Right here at home, the Shenandoah River is our first choice when we look for a place to spend a summer day or to take our families camping or boating. 

Water sooths us. And it nourishes us, quite literally.

Incinerator foes protest
Fraction of attendees heard at waste-to-energy project hearing
By Pete McCarthy, News-Post Staff , August 23, 2012

Ed Merrifield, president of Potomac Riverkeeper, a group focused on stopping pollution and restoring clean water in the river, said allowing a water permit for this project will allow "a new polluter the right to create a new toxic mixing zone into the Potomac."

The permit being considered would allow up to 400,000 gallons of water a day to be dumped into the Potomac River.

1. Answers sought for drop on Shenandoah's North Fork
WTOP,8/18/2012, 5:36pm  ET

HARRISONBURG, Va. - Officials are trying to figure out what caused water levels to drop twice in a four-day span this summer along the Shenandoah River's North Fork.

Read more.

2. MDE considers proposal by local dairy farmer to draw water from Antietam Creek for crops

by John Pekkanen, The Washingtonian, July 2012