Welcome to the Corsica River Conservancy
This website is devoted exclusively to providing information on efforts designed to restore and the Corsica River, its tributaries and its watershed. The Corsica River Conservancy and its partners are dedicated to this task.
How To Navigate Our Site
This site is designed to be interactive. You will be able to obtain specific information on restoration projects completed, underway and planned by clicking on Corsica River Projects and following the directions on that page.
ENVIRONMENTAL TIP #41
(From the Town of Centreville)
DID YOU KNOW mulching is another method of reducing stormwater runoff in your yards? Because mulch is porous, it allows rainwaterto seep into the ground and forms a firm ground cover, filtering pollutants and holding soil in its place.
Mulching is an erosion control practice that uses materials such as grass, hay, wood chips, wood fibers, straw, or gravel to stabilize exposed or recently planted soil surfaces. In addition to stabilizing soils, mulching can reduce stormwater velocity and improve the infiltration of runoff.
Mulching can also aid plant growth by holding seeds and topsoil in place, preventing birds from eating seeds, retaining moisture, and insulating plant roots against extreme temperatures.
By making small changes at the household level, water quality in the watershed can be greatly improved.
Always remember that what we do on land affects the Corsica River and the Chesapeake Bay – www.corsicariver.com
ENVIRONMENTAL TIP #40
(From the Town of Centreville)
DID YOU KNOW that when it rains, the rain washes fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides into stormdrains, which ultimately carry runoff into the Corsica River? In addition to degrading the water quality of our streams and rivers, pesticides can kill critters in the stream and fertilizers can cause algal blooms, which rob our waterways of oxygen that fish need to survive.
Many homeowners are unaware of the actual nutrient needs of their lawns. A soil test should be performed to determine whether fertilizer is even needed. Organ lawn care practices (no chemical pesticides and fertilizers) can be a wise environmental choice and will save you money. Conduct a soil test on your lawn and follow the practices below to reduce the need to fertilize on your lawn and garden.
Never fertilize before a rain storm (the pollutants are picked up by stormwater during rain events).
- Keep fertilizer off paved surfaces – sidewalks, driveways, etc.
- Use commercially available compost or make your own using garden waste.
- Let your grass clippings lay. Don’t bag the grass. Use a mulching lawn mower to cut one-third of the blade length each week and naturally fertilize your lawn in the process.
- Maintain a buffer strip of unmowed natural vegetation bordering waterways and ponds to trap excess fertilizers and sediment from lawns and gardens.
- Grow an organic garden (no pesticides or fertilizers). Visit www.organiclandscape.org
Always remember that what we do on land affects the Corsica River and the Chesapeake Bay – www.corsicariver.com
New construction site sediment pollution regulations now in effect.
Protect All Exposed Soils 7 Days After Clearance
Among the most important new requirements is that all exposed construction site soils must be protected from erosive forces within seven days of initial clearance. For most of a site, this means all disturbed areas must be covered with a layer of mulch (straw, etc.) sufficiently thick to obscure underlying soils. An equally important new requirement is that 95% vegetative (grass) cover must be achieved.
Silt Fence & Settling Ponds Can’t Protect The Bay; Only Thick Mulch & Grass
In the past most sites might have a sparse cover of grass and mulch resulting in vast quantities of eroded soil flowing into nearby waters. It takes thick mulch and 95% cover to prevent pollution of nearby waters. Perimeter measures like black silt fence and settling ponds simply can’t retain enough mud pollution on-site. In fact, whenever you see exposed soil on a construction site, you can assume pollution will occur come the next storm. In other words: Exposed Soil = Pollution. Please report it at the Watershed Advocates Construction ES=P Database and/or to your local enforcement agency.
Sites Present Before March Must Have 95% Grass Cover By April 15th
Of course grass will not begin growing until March with another two- to four-weeks needed to achieve 95% cover. If a site was cleared prior to March, yet by April 15th you see something less than 95% grass cover then you are also witnessing a violation of one of our most important aquatic resource protection laws. Again, please report it promptly! This is the best way to ensure this new law is fully enforced and the Bay and her tributaries are fully protected.
Detailed Guidance
For further detail see Exposed Soil = Pollution: How You Can Save 100 Feet of Chesapeake Bay Tributaries in an Hour by Halting Construction Site Mud Pollution
Backyard Buffers Program
The MD DNR Forest Service is offering FREE native tree and shrub seedlings to homeowners who have a stream or other waterway on or adjacent to their property and are interested in creating a streamside buffer. For further information click the link below
Corsica River Awareness Day 2012
Corsica Watershed Awareness Day was held September 15th from noon to 4 p.m. at Bloomfield Farm on Route 213, just north of Centreville. It attracted over 1000 visitors.
Funding Now Available for Upgrading Septic Systems
Traditional septic systems do not remove all nitrogen and deliver about 15-20 pounds of nitrogen per year to groundwater - new Best Available Technology "BAT" systems can cut nitrogen loads in half. Residents of Queen Anne's County are currently eligible to receive up to 100% BAT tank funding for upgrades to a nitrogen removing system. Funding is based on 1040 Tax Return Income for all but the top priority "failing in critical areas). Anyone interested in upgrading their septic may be eligible to apply, but top priority is given to those who live in the critical area (land within 1,000 feet of tidal waters) and have old or failing septic systems. The Bay Restoration Fund provides money to counties to help Marylanders install nitrogen removing systems, and these funds are generated through local flush fees. Without this funding, installation of a nitrogen removing system would typically cost a homeowner approximately $11,000-$13,000.00. 100% BAT tank funding should be available for failing septic systems in the Critical Areas in the next few years. Funding may not be available after this fiscal year, which ends June 30, 2012, for other systems. For more information in Queen Anne's County contact Dan Covington, Queen Anne's County Environmental Health at 410-758-2281, ext. 4443 or dcovington@dhmh.state.md.us.
Oyster Restoration Update
CRC has been growing oysters under the state Maryland Grows Oysters (MGO) program since 2009. These have been deposited annually on the Possum Point bar. In 2011, 40 properties owners on the Corsica hosted 221 oyster cages filled with shells that had been seeded with oyster spat at the University of Maryland Horn Point Laboratory in Cambridge. Oysters from the cages are deposited on oyster sanctuaries in the river. We plan to continue and expand the program. If you have a pier or dock along the river and think you might like to participate in the program, please contact Frank DiGialleonardo (franardo@gmail.com) or Steve Sharkey (stevesharkey@verizon.net) for details.
