Maryland Department of the Environment (for pda/handhelds)

Final TMDLs Approved by EPA

The West River is located on Maryland’s Western Shore in Anne Arundel County, MD. The West River (basin number 02-13-10-04) was first identified on the 1996 303(d) List submitted to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) by the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) as impaired by nutrients, sediments, and fecal coliform in the tidal portions, with listings of biological impacts in the non-tidal portions added in 2002.  On the 2004 303(d) List, the fecal coliform impairment was clarified with the identification of four specific restricted shellfish harvesting areas within the basin.  The document available below addresses the fecal coliform impairment listings of the areas identified:  Bear Neck Creek; Cadle Creek; West River; and Parish Creek.  The nutrient, sediment and biological impairments within the West River basin will be addressed at a future date.

Four restricted shellfish harvesting areas have been identified as impaired by fecal coliform.   The first two restricted shellfish harvesting areas, Bear Neck Creek and Cadle Creek, enter from the northeast into the Rhode River, which in turn empties into the West River.  Both of these sites are narrow with widths of about 300 to 400 meters.  The third site, the upper portion of the West River, is located about eight km to the south and flows northeastward until it joins the unrestricted portion of West River, approximately three km from the West River mouth, where it enters Chesapeake Bay.  The restricted portion of the West River is wide, exceeding one km in various locations.  The fourth and last restricted shellfish harvesting area is Parish Creek, which enters the unrestricted portion of West River a few kilometers northeast of the restricted portion of the West River.  Parish Creek has a length and width each of approximately one km.  The drainage areas of Bear Neck Creek, Cadle Creek, West River, and Parish Creek are, respectively, 842.3 acres (3.4 km²), 307.7 acres (1.24 km²), 6,227.2 acres (25.2 km²), and 435.1 acres (1.8 km²).

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