The Catoctin Pond Water
Quality Improvement Project Report
August 2005
You may have heard that the pond at Catoctin was not
available for swimming last summer (2004). In spring of 2004 the county
health department was not willing to accept our application for a natural
bathing beach permit due to some concerns about the quality of water in the
stream that feeds our pond. During the off-season we worked with local
water quality laboratories, professors in the Biology Department at Hood
College, County and state health officials and made many calls to the MD
Department of Natural Resources and the Department of the Environment.
Late in the fall we requested proposals from three environmental engineering
firms and on January 29th a group of biologists, environmental engineers and
others (all camp parents and concerned Friends), met to evaluate the proposals.
One proposal stood head and shoulders above the rest. It was prepared
by Friends from two different engineering firms who are long-time camp parents
and attend Goose Creek Monthly Meeting. The proposal blended careful
evaluation, monitoring, and environmentally sensitive technologies in a
holistic long-term solution to the problem. The proposal can be viewed at
http://www.bym-rsf.org/camping/CQCLagoonFundRaising/GoonFundRaising.html by clicking on DS-ET
Lagoon Water Quality Proposal.
The goal was to have our campers swimming in crystal clear, clean, safe
water this summer. Unfortunately, difficulties in creating a design and
hiring contractors to undertake the installation delayed the installation until
after camp. Never-the-less, The
Frederick County Health department recognized the efforts that we were making
to improve the situation and expressed their willingness to issue a bathing
beach permit, contingent on the usual criteria. For the first two weeks of camp joyful noises emanating from the
pond were heard echoing off the mountains.
At the end of the second week of camp a thunder storm swept over the
mountain, flooding the stream that feeds the pond and raising the bacteria counts
to an unsafe level. The pond was closed
and swimming was discontinued. But
that’s not the end of the story!
Due to the heroic efforts of some Catoctin alumni and the Camp staff the
pond was treated with a naturally occurring, environmentally safe salt that has
clarified the water, reducing the bacterial counts in the pond to a level that
is safe and acceptable to the county health department. The Lagoon is again full of joyful campers!
The shouts of glee produced by happy, wet campers are a wonder to behold,
but for joy to prevail in the years to come we must employ a more permanent
solution to the problem. We continue to
work with Dynamic Solutions and Earth Tech to design and install a stream water
disinfection system that will serve us in the future. The design under review can also be viewed at the website
above. However (you knew there would be
a "however" didn't you), this system is going to need to be paid
for. Our fundraising goal for this effort is $73,000. We hope to
raise that amount before the year 2005 becomes 2006.
Baltimore Yearly Meeting has been providing affordable camping experiences
for children for well over 50 years. It is our intention to continue to
do so. Because of that intention, we do not want to pass the full burden
of this project on to our children through camper fees. At Catoctin,
children learn that when we care for each other, and work together, all things
are possible. Can we demonstrate our love for Catoctin and our belief in
the values we learned at Camp?
Of course we can!
Friends, Lets fill the Lagoon!
Please consider what you can give, fill out the “Fill
the Lagoon” appeal form and send it and your check to:
Baltimore
Yearly Meeting
Fill
the Lagoon
17100
Quaker Lane
Sandy
Spring MD 20860
