Giving Back to our community

With Thanksgiving around the corner, we are grateful for the opportunities that we have had this year to work with local organizations that promote and advocate for the health and wellness of the Chesapeake Bay. 

1. TowBoatUS Kent Narrows/ Knapps Narrows works closely with the Riverkeepers of ShoreRivers. The mission of this organization is to protect and restore Eastern Shore waterways through science-based advocacy, restoration and education. We did a “Creek-watchers” training program that allowed us to do water quality testing for them on different sites around the Chesapeake. We use testing kits to check the waters pH, salinity, temperature, dissolved oxygen and water clarity. The information is used by ShoreRivers to monitor the health of the tributaries of the Chesapeake. In addition, they test fecal and bacterial contamination in local rivers and the information is given to the Swim Guide so that people will know if the water is safe for swimming. We also give regular reports to the Riverkeepers to inform them of algal blooms that we see in local waters. TowBoatUS Kent Narrows/Knapps Narrows uses its social platform and on-water presence encouraging people to use the free pump-out boat that took over 17,000 gallons of raw waste from boaters and kept it out of our waters. 
2. TowBoatUS Kent Narrows/ Knapps Narrows uses it's towboats to help scientists from Chesapeake Dolphin Watch. Dr. Helen Bailey and her team are based out of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. They are studying how often dolphins come into the Chesapeake, how long they spend here, what areas they visit and why. Capt. Adam has been taking the scientists out to Eastern Bay so that they can drop a hydrophone to measure ambient noise. The goal is to find out the effects of noise on marine mammals living in the Chesapeake Bay. The hydrophone is marked with a buoy and we regularly check the buoy and take the CDW team member out to collect data from the hydrophone.