Guided Pontoon Boat Tour with AWS Water Quality Specialist

Date: Thursday, July 26, 2012
Time: 9:45 am-noon
Location: Bladensburg Waterfront Park, 4601 Annapolis Road, Bladensburg, MD
Cost: Suggested donation of $20/person, $30/couple or parent/child

Click here to RSVP!

Our Water Quality Specialist, Masaya Maeda, welcomes all walks of life to our Pontoon Boat Tour. He takes water samples every Thursday from June through October. During the tour he will demonstrate our sampling methodology, discuss water quality issues, and explain the river.

To cover the cost of the trip, we ask participants to make a suggested donation: $20 per person, $30 per couple or parents with children. You can make a donation on this page: https://www.anacostiaws.org/donation/checkout

Please RSVP for this tour. The number of seats is limited.

Notes

• Place to meet: Bladensburg Waterfront Park near the gazebo at the south end of the parking lot.
  4601 Annapolis Road, Bladensburg, MD 20710
• Time to meet: 9:45 am
• Tour Start Time: 10:00 am
• Tour End Time: around noon
• Number of participants: 10 people
• Restroom: once the tour starts, there is no access to a restroom. Use the restroom (available at the park) before the tour starts.
• The tour starts 10 am sharp from the Bladensburg Waterfront Park. Because this is a part of water quality monitoring effort and there is a strict sample holding time, this tour needs to start at 10 am.
• Participants are required to wear Personal Floating Device (PFD), provided by AWS. On hot summer days, this may make you feel very hot. 
• The boat goes out rain or shine, since this is a part of monitoring. However, the tour will be canceled during a life-threatening event (hurricane, too strong winds, lightning & thunder, etc.). 
• An extra jacket is suggested except on very hot days. It is sometimes colder on the water, especially in October.
• In the summer bring sunblock and a brimmed hat.
• Bring your camera if you want. There are many wild animals in the Anacostia!
• Our boat will stop at 7 sampling stations (points) along the tidal Anacostia. You may be able to see significant sedimentation at the Bladensburg Waterfront Park at low tide. We will also pass wetlands along the river, our phragmites removal project site, the National Arboretum, and Hickey Run (which once caught fire!), and much more.
• The parameters we monitor are pH, water temperature, DO, and Secchi Disk Depth during the tour. Masaya also takes samples for E. Coli. (Fecal bacteria) and conductivity. The data collected will be used for our annual State of the River report.
• Participants will not take official samples but you may take your own samples if you wish as long as it won't take much time.

For more information, contact our Membership and Volunteer Coordinator, Maddie Koenig, by phone at 301-699-6204 x109, or by email at mkoenig@anacostiaws.org.