Can artificial islands save the Chesapeake Bay?

By PAMELA WOOD, Staff Writer

Published 09/13/08

Annapolis Mayor Ellen O. Moyer has an idea for improving the health of the city's creeks: install artificial, wetlands-covered islands.

Courtesy photo An artificial floating island in a pond at the Chesapeake Bay Environmental Center looks similar to the surrounding shoreline. The artificial islands are designed to soak up excess nutrient pollution from the water.
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She's asking the state for money to cover the installation of a test island on Back Creek as part of a larger grant application for environmental projects.

"If this does for our waters what they've done in other waters, this could be a real boon to moving forward on clean water initiatives in our creeks," Ms. Moyer said.

She stressed, however, that it's a big "if."

The floating island technology is new and, to a large degree, unproven. So the mayor's plan is to work with a...

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A Solution - 2008-09-14 20:32:38

I agree with BW. This is not another grand plan. As I said in the interview, "this is not a panacea". We have a broken system. We need new infiltration best management practices (see Keith Underwood's Coastal Plain Outfall designs). Biohaven Floating Wetland Islands help reduce nutrient loading as microbes take up nutrients 3x faster than algae. This will stop algal blooms and eutrification. It's only part of a solution but a good one to mitigate what we've already done to our environment.
T Gattino - Severna Park, MD, BlueWing

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Ted Gattino - Crofton, MD - Karma: Neutral

Great Idea!!!! - 2008-09-14 13:54:56

Not a matter of another grand plan. We need hundreds of plans. Thats the whole idea. The biggest plan needs to be reduceing the sewage that flows to the bay. Need new technology toilets. Air and water pressure for example. Yes, reduce the amount of sewage water. Stop the rain water from entering the sewage system. Should have never got in there in the first place. Not designed correctly. Seal the system up so rain cannot get into the system. Need many more ideas. Yes reduce the fertilizer. Apply just before a light rain only. Get the fertilizer in the ground. It is not complicated. Let me know. Sincerely, BW

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B. White - Edgewater, MD - Karma: Neutral