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The water's muddy out here!

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JohnP
Master Marine Consultant

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1519 Posts

Initially Posted - 09/14/2011 : 10:27:53

After Tropical Storm Lee and Hurricane Irene gave the northeast too much rain, lots of dirt washed down the Susquehanna River, as well as many other rivers, and the Chesapeake Bay is now a [url="http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/chesapeake-takes-a-beating-from-storm/2011/09/13/gIQAKNVaQK_story.html"]muddy mess![/url] I don't know how long it will take to clear up this Fall. It's not only dirty water, but it has dangerous debris, like logs and other flotsam.

In the [url="http://mddnr.chesapeakebay.net/eyesonthebay/satellite.cfm"]satellite photo [/url]Annapolis is in the center, and my marina is just a little North of that, where all the brown stuff is.

Might take months to clear up. The oysters and crabs will be in trouble all that time, too.

I do not feel like sailing in that muck for a while now, and I usually enjoy swimming off the boat, but all swimming is cancelled until further notice!

Edit: Labeled the satellite photo for those not familiar with this area.

JohnP
1978 C25 SR/FK "Gypsy"
Mill Creek off the Magothy River, Chesapeake Bay
Port Captain, northern Chesapeake Bay

Edited by - JohnP on 09/15/2011 07:09:07

redeye
Master Marine Consultant

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3474 Posts

Response Posted - 09/14/2011 : 10:57:48

Barf Bag said they sailed back to Annapolis from Oxford in a 42 ft C&C in 40 mph following winds recently. Said it was a hoot...

They've been racing Snipes up there this summer also, although that series is apparently over.

I heard you guys had a really windy summer. I've heard of tearing out a lower unit on a floating tree, but never a keel. ( I thinks that boat goes slower than you think!) :)

Go Slower...

(Sorry... didn't bring my camera.. cell phone photo.. gotta stop that )

Edited by - redeye on 09/14/2011 11:13:22

britinusa
Web Editor

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USA
5404 Posts

Response Posted - 09/15/2011 : 03:48:54

Can't complain at that cellphone pic! Gorgeous!

paul

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gpc
Deckhand

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17 Posts

Response Posted - 09/15/2011 : 05:30:36

Marinas in Havre de Grace were under three feet of water last weekend from Lee. Now there is an inch of mud everywhere.

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Steve Milby
Past Commodore

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USA
5851 Posts

Response Posted - 09/15/2011 : 05:36:29

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by JohnP
 After Tropical Storm Lee and Hurricane Irene gave the northeast too much rain, lots of dirt washed down the Susquehanna River, as well as many other rivers, and the Chesapeake Bay is now a [url="http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/chesapeake-takes-a-beating-from-storm/2011/09/13/gIQAKNVaQK_story.html"]muddy mess![/url] I don't know how long it will take to clear up this Fall. It's not only dirty water, but it has dangerous debris, like logs and other flotsam.

In the [url="http://mddnr.chesapeakebay.net/eyesonthebay/satellite.cfm"]satellite photo [/url]Annapolis is in the center, and my marina is just a little North of that, where all the brown stuff is.

Might take months to clear up. The oysters and crabs will be in trouble all that time, too.

I do not feel like sailing in that muck for a while now.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">Last night I raced on the Patapsco River, north of Annapolis, and big logs were everywhere - some so big that we had to alter course significantly to get around them. With the tidal currents, they should wash out into the main body of the bay, and the rivers should be cleaner, but then the main body of the bay will be littered with debris.

Edited by - on

Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
9013 Posts

Response Posted - 09/15/2011 : 05:51:23

Things are pretty clear up here except around the mouth of the Connecticut River, which comes down from Vermont... (You may have seen some news from up there.) Over there, we have to watch out for houses ( or parts of them) coming down the river, not to mention trees and bridges. The dams along the river probably stop some of it, but apparently not all of it. The tide eventually carries it up the shore to my neighborhood. I hear occasional Security calls about large debris, and at 25 knots, I'm watching intently!

Edited by - Stinkpotter on 09/15/2011 05:54:34

bigelowp
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1736 Posts

Response Posted - 09/15/2011 : 06:18:22

Up in the Boston area the Merrimack River (which flowed from VT through NH to Newburyport MA) was flowing at flood heights and brown --almost like sewage color but confirmed to be mostly soil runoff)for a few days after Irene. It cleared very quickly and the ocean ports have all cleared out as well. Amazing how larger bodies of water can assimilate so much "stuff" reasonably well. Still was flooding, still damage along the way, but it did clear rather quickly.

Edited by - bigelowp on 09/15/2011 06:18:52

TakeFive
Master Marine Consultant

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2269 Posts

Response Posted - 09/15/2011 : 08:28:00

The Delaware River flows pretty fast, so might clear out a little quicker than the Chesapeake.

Silt: We had a lot after Irene, and a report of one powerboat mucking up his water pump trying to go out 2 days after the storm (Tuesday). It took about 5 days for the water to lose the chocolate look that time. Things got stirred up again after Lee, but settled down a little faster. I went down to the boat yesterday and stuck a white debris removal tool underwater, and I could still see it 18-24" down - actually a little better visibility than normal for this time of year. I think the silt has settled back out already, and the extra flow of water (and its lower than normal temperature) has flushed out/suppressed the normal algae growth that we get this time of year, so things are actually a little clearer than normal where I am.

Debris: There's a lot of stuff trapped in the marina, but out in the river itself it's not too bad. We had a big rain storm on April 17 that caused far more debris than either Irene or Lee. So for the whole spring/summer we've had more debris than normal (mostly due to that April 17 storm), but Irene and Lee have just been been temporary blips on my part of the river. I suspect that the rocky rapids north of Trenton have filtered out most of the refrigerators, cars, and other big stuff, unlike the Susquehanna/Chesapeake where the Conowingo gates were breached, flushing years worth of accumulated stuff into the Bay.

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OJ
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4382 Posts

Response Posted - 09/15/2011 : 08:32:08

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by gpc
 Marinas in Havre de Grace were under three feet of water last weekend from Lee. Now there is an inch of mud everywhere.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">Thanks for sharing this Greg, I will show it to a friend who is interested in acquiring a marina on the Chesapeake.

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