|
| Autumn 2018 River News from: |
|
|
Benthic Monitoring Season Cancelled
Middle River recently had three major flood events in a three
week period. The river peaked at almost 10,000 cubic feet/second (CFS) just
before midnight on Sept. 28 and has remained somewhat high well into October. Initially, we thought we would just postpone monitoring. But then two MORE flood events happened that really scoured
the stream bed.
FOMR benthic monitoring
coordinator Whit Morriss remains unsure exactly when insect populations will
return to "normal" levels but feels that any monitoring
scores we would get would right now would not reflect the impact on insects by sediment
pollutants, but rather by extreme weather events. He has decided to cancel
our fall testing and regroup in the spring. While he hates to do this, he
thinks Mother Nature has won this round. |
|
|
|
Winter Salt Watch
Salting of roads in winter keeps us safe on roads and
sidewalks, but it can also pose a threat to fish and wildlife as well as human
health. Road salt eventually runs off into the soil near the road. When winter
is over, spring rains flush this salt into our streams, rivers, and lakes. This
is a slow process. Even if we quit using road salt today, the salt already in
the ground can persist for decades… continue reading HERE.
|
|
|
Seeking Volunteers
Would you consider
being a Salt Watch monitor this winter? FOMR is seeking a
few volunteers willing to collect some winter water samples to determine if
winter de-icing salts are getting into Middle River.
The process involves taking a minimum of four
samples of water
1) before a winter storm
2) after salt has been applied to the
roads
3) after the first warm-weather day or rainstorm following a snow or
freeze
4) after the next rain event.
If we get volunteers and can sample a few strategic sites around the county, FOMR may get
its first look at whether excess salt in our water is an issue.
For more
information about how to get involved, click HERE.
https://www.iwla.org/conservation/water/winter-salt-watch |
|
Field Trip Poll
FOMR is looking into arranging a field trip to tour a local wastewater treatment facility over the winter. No details yet, but we're curious about the number of folks who might be interested. If you have any interest at all please click HERE. |
|
Have Trailer, Will Travel
There's a cool new local education
project that FOMR is excited about and has joined to financially support.
Our local Headwaters Soil and Water Conservation District agency
(HSWCD) is in the process of creating a wonderful 22 ft. long
educational mobile trailer that will accommodate permanent and transitional displays depicting
soil components of the ecosystem, of which the watershed will be a part.
Meanwhile, a local anonymous benefactor
contributed $5000 to FOMR with a stipulation attached that the money be used exclusively
to educate our local community about our area’s environmental resources, of which
the Middle River watershed is a critical component.
|
|
|
Pictured above, Board Chair Dave Mangun (right) hands the donation to HSWCD's Rachel McCuller
and Rick Shiflet for the mobile soils education trailer .
|
|
|
Friends Fest 2018
One hundred Friends gathered for the first (and hopefully last) indoor Friends Fest. Thanks for turning out in the rain so we could enjoy each others' company, meet some new friends, talk river talk, chow down on some good eats and give away our raffle drawing prizes! Below is winner Charlie Riner on the left, receiving his new Tarpon 100 kayak!
|
|
|
River School
How to get real-time water level info
With a little willingness to surf
around on the computer, you can get up-to-date information from the river gauges on
Middle River (or other rivers throughout the US) sent straight to your email
inbox. The United States Geologic Service offers an overwhelming wealth of
data, and this post will hopefully make it simpler for a beginner to access and use their data.
The following steps lead you
through how to read on-line or sign up for email alerts when the river meets
conditions that you set. For example, you can get an email notice telling you
the river is higher than a given water level that you specify, lower than a certain level, or within
a range you set. Say you want to go fishing on Middle River only when the
water is between 1 and 2 feet high on the gauge. You’ll get an email every day
when the river meets your fishing requirements! Then you can call in sick and start packing your gear!
|
|
|
Read more about Friends of the Middle River at our website HERE.
And follow us on Facebook!
P.O. Box 131, Verona VA, 24482
FOMR is a 501(c)(3) organization. |
|
|
