eMDE – Get the new Maryland Healthy Beaches app
THE LATEST FROM THE MARYLAND DEPARTMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENT
FEATURED ARTICLE
MARYLAND BEACH CONDITIONS – IN THE PALM OF YOUR HAND
Any time, any place, up-to-date beach information is just a few taps away with the new Maryland Healthy Beaches smartphone app.
The app – available for free – provides information on conditions at your favorite Maryland beaches. The app is now available for Android at Google Play and is coming soon for iPhone at the App Store.
The status of Maryland’s swimming beaches is also posted on the Maryland Healthy Beaches websiteon the Current Conditionspage.The site includes a revised interactive map with color coding to show any health-based advisories for a particular beach.
The web site also includes daily updates on rainfall for beaches. You should avoid swimming in natural waters within 48 hours of a heavy rain event because potentially harmful bacteria concentrations might rise due to polluted stormwater runoff.
You can sign up for email alerts and, new this year, a text messaging system to let you know if your favorite beach has a notification.
The website also provides tips on staying healthy at the beach.
MDE works with local health departments to make sure water quality is monitored. When water quality samples collected from a beach area do not meet state and federal water quality criteria, an advisory is posted. MDE sets water quality standards and…
IN THE NEWS
WJZ-TV: Maryland beaches rated among best in nation
When it comes to beaches, Maryland scores very high for clean water. An annual survey finds the water isn’t just fine for swimming, it’s safe. Read more
Star Democrat: Queenstown dedicates new well
A new municipal well for the Town of Queenstown was dedicated in a brief ceremony. The well began as a test well and was converted to a permanent one, giving the town two separate water sources. Read more
AIR, LAND, WATER – DID YOU KNOW?
Grants available for watershed restoration projects
The Chesapeake Bay Trust, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, and the Maryland Department of the Environment welcome requests for the Watershed Assistance – Two-Year Milestone Support grant program. This program will support design assistance, watershed planning and programmatic development associated with protection and restoration programs and projects that lead to improved water quality in the Maryland portion of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, the Maryland portion of the Youghiogheny watershed, and the Maryland Coastal Bays.
Maryland to Host DataBay Innovative Challenge
Techies, programmers and scientists are invited to join the Maryland Departments of the Environment and Natural Resources, and other partners, to create data-driven applications that increase public engagement and aid in Bay restoration. Over the weekend of August 1, prominent environmental “futurists” will describe some of the Bay’s challenges and needs. Participants will have access to a broad variety of robust data, including decades of water samples from hundreds of locations. Learn more and register here
THE STAT
About this STAT
MDE works with local health departments to make sure water quality is monitored at beaches. When water quality samples do not meet water quality criteria, an advisory is posted. In Maryland the designated beach season is from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
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MDE’s MISSION
Our mission is to protect and restore the quality of Maryland’s air, water, and land resources, while fostering smart growth, a thriving and sustainable economy and healthy communities.