Water quality in the Chester River is better today than it was one year ago, according to the 2009 Chester River Report Card compiled by the Chester River Association. “This is a significant and encouraging event,” said Tom Leigh, Chester Riverkeeper, “and it’s nice to be able to report some good news — in contrast to other watershed organizations. But let’s remember, moving from a D to a C- means we’ve still got a lot of work to do to get where we want to be.”

Water quality improved throughout the mainstream of the river, advancing from a C to C+ in the Middle Estuary, from a D to C- in the Upper Estuary and from a D to a D+ in the Lower Estuary, where quality is heavily influenced by the Chesapeake Bay. Water clarity throughout the estuary remained poor.

Overall, for Chester River creeks, there was no change in last year’s C+ grade for water quality. As Leigh pointed out, improvements in some Chester River creeks were offset by declines elsewhere. A C grade for the creeks and the river means that there is a mix of healthy and unhealthy water quality and biological health indicators. Quality of water tends to be “fair,” leading to “fair” habitat for fish and shellfish. A D grade, by contrast, means quality tends to be “poor,” where a B means most water quality tends to be “good.”

Testing on the rivers tributaries is conducted by approximately 50 volunteer Chester Testers, who take water samples twice a month at 26 non-tidal locations. Water is tested for dissolved oxygen, water clarity, aquatic grasses, nitrogen and phosphorus. There are eight Chesapeake and Coastal Bay watershed and river organizations producing report cards this year. Those reports cover Atlantic Coastal Bays, the Chester, Sassafras and Nanticoke rivers on the Eastern Shore, and the Magothy, South, West, Rhode and Patuxent rivers on the Western Shore.

Of those that have reported so far, as Leigh pointed out, the Chester River report was the only one to show water quality improvement. “This is not good news for the other bays and rivers, but it’s a step in the right direction for us.”