Table of Contents:
Actions to Improve Water Quality At Home
Yard and Pet Waste
Importance of Reducing Litter
Value of Native Landscaping
Managing Stormwater
The Direct Benefit to Water Quality
Beyond Your Backyard: Collective Action for Cleaner Water
Connect with Watershed Organizations
Become a Citizen Scientist
Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) & Conservation Easements:
Partnering for Long-Term Conservation
Water Quality in Maryland: Why It Matters and What You Can Do
Water quality is critical for Maryland's environment, economy, and residents. Clean streams and waterways support diverse ecosystems, provide drinking water, and promote recreational activities. The Maryland Department of the Environment is committed to protecting and restoring our water resources, and citizen involvement is essential.
While permitted stream and wetland restoration projects provide significant benefits to water quality, there are actions we all can take to improve our streams. This webpage aims to inform Maryland residents of individual and community actions towards promoting water quality and stream health.
Stream Restoration: Tributary to Gwynns Falls
Reisterstown, June 2025 (Source: Kevin Johnson, Maryland Department of the Environment)
Actions to Improve Water Quality At Home
Marylanders can make a significant difference by taking simple steps at home and in their communities. Some examples include:
Reducing and properly disposing of waste
Practicing native landscaping on your property
Installing rain barrels or rain gardens to help manage stormwater.
More detail and resources for some of these practices are below.
Yard and Pet Waste
Properly managing yard and pet waste can significantly enhance water quality in Maryland. When pet waste is left on the ground, bacteria and nutrients can wash into storm drains and eventually reach streams and rivers. This contamination can contribute to harmful algal blooms, oxygen depletion, and the spread of disease. By picking up pet waste and disposing of it correctly, citizens prevent these pollutants from entering waterways, ensuring cleaner and healthier aquatic environments.
Additionally, composting yard waste instead of leaving it in the street or near storm drains can also play a crucial role. Decomposing yard waste can release excess nutrients into stormwater, causing similar problems to pet waste. Composting transforms food and yard waste into a valuable resource while preventing it from becoming a source of pollution. This simple action reduces nutrient runoff and promotes a healthier ecosystem, benefiting both the environment and the community.
Pet Waste: Dog poop, scoop the poop, trash
(Source: Lisa Jones, Maryland Department of the Environment)
Importance of Reducing Litter
Reducing litter is crucial for improving water quality because litter that ends up on the ground can easily be washed into storm drains and waterways. This pollution can have several negative impacts including:
- Contamination: Litter can introduce harmful chemicals and bacteria into streams and rivers, making the water unsafe for drinking, swimming, and wildlife.
- Blockages: Litter can clog storm drains, leading to flooding and further pollution as water overflows and carries debris into waterways
- Harm to Wildlife: Animals can ingest or become entangled in litter, causing injury or death.
- Aesthetics: Litter detracts from the beauty of natural areas and can negatively impact recreational activities and tourism.
By properly disposing of trash and participating in trash clean-up events, citizens can significantly reduce these negative impacts and contribute to cleaner and healthier water resources.
Litter: Alley, trash, garbage, litter
Baltimore City (Source: Lisa Jones, Maryland Department of the Environment)
Value of Native Landscaping
By choosing native plants, homeowners can take an active role in protecting local water quality and reaping the following benefits:
Reduced Chemical Runoff: Native plants thrive in local conditions and generally require less fertilizer and pesticides than non-native species. This reduces the risk of harmful chemicals running off into nearby waterways and harming aquatic life.
Improved Water Absorption: Native plants typically have deep root systems that improve soil structure and increase its capacity to absorb rainwater. This helps to prevent stormwater runoff, reduce flooding, and replenish groundwater supplies.
Natural Filtration: The roots and surrounding soil of native plants act as a natural filter, removing pollutants from stormwater before it reaches streams, rivers, and other bodies of water.
Water Conservation: Because they're adapted to the local climate, native plants often require less watering than non-native species. This conserves water resources and further reduces stormwater runoff.
Enhanced Property Value: Native landscaping can increase property values by creating a beautiful and low-maintenance landscape that also benefits the environment.
Through native planting, homeowners can create a beautiful landscape that also contributes to a healthier watershed and cleaner water for their community.
Native Landscaping: Native garden, wildflowers, pollinators
(Source: Lisa Jones, Maryland Department of the Environment)
Managing Stormwater for Improved Water Quality
Stormwater runoff is a major source of pollution in our waterways. When rain flows over impervious surfaces, it picks up pollutants and carries them directly into streams and the Chesapeake Bay. Citizen-led actions like the creation of rain gardens and rain barrels are beneficial to stormwater management and, consequently, significant improvements in water quality. These individual actions work together to mimic natural processes, reducing the volume and improving the quality of stormwater runoff before it reaches our waterways:
Rain Gardens - Natural Infiltration and Filtration: By capturing and holding stormwater, rain gardens allow water to slowly infiltrate the ground. This natural process filters out pollutants, reduces the volume of runoff entering storm drains, and replenishes groundwater. The native plants further enhance filtration and stabilize the soil, preventing erosion.
Reducing Runoff at the Source: Minimizing impervious surfaces allows more rainwater to soak into the ground naturally, reducing the amount of runoff generated. One method you could consider on your own property is a permeable driveway. Additionally, directing downspouts to vegetated areas further encourages infiltration and reduces the direct flow of polluted water into storm drains.
Rain Barrels: Rain barrels capture and store rainwater, reducing the volume of stormwater runoff that needs to be managed. Using this collected water for irrigation lessens the demand on municipal water supplies. When coupled with rain gardens, any overflow or runoff can be effectively filtered before reaching waterways, creating a powerful two-pronged approach to stormwater management and water quality protection.
Overbank Flooding: Flooding, storm, rain, lake
(Source: Maryland Department of the Environment Water and Science Administration)
The Direct Benefit to Water Quality
By managing stormwater, we collectively:
- Reduce Pollutant Loads: Less pollutants are carried into our streams and the Bay.
Decrease Runoff Volume: Lower volumes of stormwater reduce erosion and the strain on drainage systems.
Promote Groundwater Recharge: Allowing water to soak into the ground replenishes local aquifers.
Protect Aquatic Ecosystems: Cleaner water supports healthier habitats for fish, shellfish, and other aquatic life.
Individual efforts in implementing these water quality and stormwater management practices directly contribute to cleaner, healthier water for our community and the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Be a part of the solution!
Nutrient Pollution: algae
Blairs Valley Dam (Source: Maryland Department of the Environment)
Beyond Your Backyard: Collective Action for Cleaner Water
While individual actions at home are vital, joining forces with your community amplifies the impact on local water quality. Here's how you can extend your efforts beyond your property and become part of a larger movement for cleaner water:
Connect with Watershed Organizations: Your Local Water Advocates
Tap into Expertise and Action: Local watershed organizations are dedicated to protecting and restoring the health of specific river basins or drainage areas. They serve as hubs for information, education, and on-the-ground action.
Get Involved By:
Becoming a Member: Support their work financially and stay informed about local water quality issues and initiatives.
Attending Meetings and Workshops: Learn about the challenges facing your local waterways and discover ways you can contribute to solutions.
- Participating in Projects: Many watershed organizations organize volunteer events focused on direct environmental improvement.
Volunteer Tree: Planting the Liberty Tree
Flight 93 Planting, April 2018 (Source: Maryland Department of the Environment)
Volunteer Opportunities Often Include:
Stream Cleanups: Removing trash and debris that pollute our waterways and harm aquatic life.
Invasive Species Removal: Helping native ecosystems thrive by eliminating non-native plants that outcompete local species and degrade habitat.
Native Seeding and Tree Planting: Restoring riparian buffers (vegetated areas along waterways) that filter pollutants, stabilize stream banks, and provide shade and habitat.
Habitat Restoration Projects: Participating in efforts to enhance or rebuild critical habitats for aquatic organisms and other wildlife.
Find Your Local Group: You can search online for community programs for your local watershed or waterway or use the MDNR Watershed Associations network to connect with opportunities near you.
Volunteer Trash: Barclay, recycling, urban
Baltimore City, October 2020 (Source: Lisa Jones, Maryland Department of the Environment)
Become a Citizen Scientist
You don't need a science degree to contribute valuable data on the health of your local streams and rivers.
Participate in Programs That Involve:
Water Quality Monitoring: Learn how to collect water samples and perform basic tests for parameters like pH, dissolved oxygen, temperature, and turbidity. This data helps track water quality trends and identify potential pollution sources.
Biological Monitoring: Identifying and counting aquatic insects (macroinvertebrates) that are indicators of water quality. A diverse population of sensitive species suggests a healthy stream.
Citizen Science: Oyster restoration
(Source: Lisa Jones, Maryland Department of the Environment)
Volunteer with Environmental Groups: Numerous local nonprofits and Riverkeeper organizations are actively involved in protecting and restoring our waterways.
Offer Your Time and Skills For:
- Restoration Projects: Assist with activities like planting trees, stabilizing stream banks, and creating in-stream habitat structures.
Outreach and Education: Help raise awareness about water quality issues and engage the community in conservation efforts.
Administrative Support: Many organizations rely on volunteers for tasks like data entry, event planning, and fundraising.
Connect with Local Groups: Waterkeepers Chesapeake links to waterkeepers across Maryland. Additionally, you can search for "[Your County/City] environmental nonprofits" or "[Your Local River Name] Riverkeeper" to find opportunities near you. Many organizations will provide training and resources to prepare you for field work such as Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay RiverTrends.
Citizen Science: stream sampling
(Source: Maryland Department of Natural Resources)
Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) & Conservation Easements: Partnering for Long-Term Conservation
For Landowners: If you own agricultural or other eligible land, consider exploring programs that offer financial incentives for implementing conservation practices.
Conservation Reserve Program (CRP): A program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that provides annual rental payments to landowners who remove environmentally sensitive land from agricultural production and establish vegetative cover for the long term. This can significantly reduce agricultural runoff and protect water quality.
Conservation Easements: Legal agreements that permanently limit the use of a property to protect its conservation values. Landowners who donate or sell conservation easements may receive tax benefits or payments. These easements can safeguard critical riparian areas, wetlands, and forests that play a vital role in maintaining water quality.
Explore Your Options: Contact your local USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) office or land trust organizations to learn more about these programs and whether your land is eligible.
By engaging with community efforts and exploring conservation programs, you can extend your impact far beyond your property lines, contributing to a collective movement that ensures cleaner and healthier waterways for everyone. Your participation strengthens these initiatives and amplifies the positive changes we can achieve together!
Conservation: Forest retention area, trees
(Source: Lisa Jones, Maryland Department of the Environment)
