March M&G

[DanMarino]

Great post John! Who knew there were 4 treatment plants on Mattawoman.
Which one of you guys lives at the Lingafelt residence? haha.

[canoe515]

Much of Old Town Alexandria is on a combined system as well. I know the Blue cats were not welcomed in the river, but I would bet their kidneys and livers are doing a yeomans job for water quality. As a civil engineer, I would be more worried about the stormwater runoff and chemicals then the normal sewage plant discharges.

[Runnin]

Now DC is a whole different issue. DC has a combined system in which the sewers connect to the storm drains... and that's just nasty.

Ain;t that the Truth!!!

[buzz]

Not aware there was a waste water plant upstream of the 225 bridge- the creek is barely navigable in a kayak above the bridge- the only time you have an issue with treated water is in by-pass mode when flooding causes raw sewage- the entire Chesapeake Bay has dozens and dozens of waste water treatment plants discharges- and as long as they are properly functioning all is well (or as well as EPA can regulate)----it is in the spring rains and floods we get all the sewage discharges...

Agree. The only time these places are a problem is when big storms and heavy rains cause sewage lines running into the treatment facility to overflow.

Now DC is a whole different issue. DC has a combined system in which the sewers connect to the storm drains... and that's just nasty.

[J.A. Veil]

According to information published by the Maryland Dept of the Environment (MDE), "There are four wastewater treatment plants contributing nutrient loads to the Mattawoman Creek: the Town of Indian Head WWTP, Lackey High School WWTP, Brandywine Receiving Station and the Lingafelt Residence." I do not know the exact location of each discharge pipe. Of these four, only the town of Indian Head is a medium/large discharge. In addition to these, the very large regional Mattawoman Wastewater Treatment Plant is physically located off of Rt 225 within the upper Mattawoman Creek watershed. But from what I could find, its discharges are piped directly to the Potomac River and do not enter Mattawoman Creek. All of these discharges are regulated under permits issued by MDE.

As a side note, a portion of the treated wastewater from the Mattawoman plant is piped to the Panda Brandywine power plant where it is used for makeup water in the cooling tower. I visited that plant in 2007 as part of a report I wrote on using treated sewage wastewater in power plants. All of the treated wastewater is kept separate and conveyed in pipes painted purple.

That's the straight poop.

Panda Brandywine photos 011.jpg Panda Brandywine photos 008.jpg

[Runnin]

I'm in for March 8th, and I want lunch and a beer too!

[ronaultmtd]

Not aware there was a waste water plant upstream of the 225 bridge- the creek is barely navigable in a kayak above the bridge- the only time you have an issue with treated water is in by-pass mode when flooding causes raw sewage- the entire Chesapeake Bay has dozens and dozens of waste water treatment plants discharges- and as long as they are properly functioning all is well (or as well as EPA can regulate)----it is in the spring rains and floods we get all the sewage discharges...

[DanMarino]

According to the satellite map I looked at, the treatment plant is up stream of the 225 bridge. Wouldn't the treated water go up and down the creek with the tides and eventually out into the Potomac?

[ronaultmtd]

Not to my knowledge above Slavins Launch...

[DanMarino]

Isn't there a sewage treatment plant on Mattawoman Creek?

[ronaultmtd]

I usually fish in the spring to fill my freezer with blue catfish filets...from Mattawoman Creek way up from Slavins launch- and I only keep blues from 27 inches or less- they are fun to catch on light tackle and I usually put over a chum bag and anchor up just on the edge of a channel in 10-12 feet of water and toss chucked bunker or menhaden on a 7/0 circle hook (fishfinder rig) into the deeper water channels- If you are going strictly for pullage- Wilson Bridge and the Harry Nice bridge (Aqualand) have some really big monster Blue cats in the deep channels- but you couldn't hold a gun on me to eat one of the big ones-

[Rockchaser]

http://www.bayjournal.com/article/sa...tch_invasive_s

There feeding it to us anyway.. Count me in hopefully i can fill the freezer. Since i quit buying fish in the stores. Maybe for lunch.

I might eat it from farther down river, just not sure about all the run off from DC streets. Hope we will see you on the 8th.

[Jaspratt]

http://www.bayjournal.com/article/sa...tch_invasive_s

There feeding it to us anyway.. Count me in hopefully i can fill the freezer. Since i quit buying fish in the stores. Maybe for lunch.

[Rockchaser]

I would like to join you guys. I have been a light/ultralight fisherman and basically a fair weather fisherman, so I may have to back out if we are still in the dreaded "polar vortex". 50's I can deal with. I will dust off the one heavy rod I have and spool on some new line. I've fished for bullheads when the bass and bluegill were not biting, so a big Mr. Whisker will be quite a change.

Hopefully it warms up by then. Water temps in the mid to upper 40s would be great also.

[sparky1423]

We usually toss them for distance from the top of the bridge...the fisherman that got skunked is usually the lookout for the PoPo

If you don't eat the blue cats then what dfo yuou do with them? I've heard the snakeheads are tasty but haven't heard anything disparaging about toxins. I guess they could make cat food or ferment into Kore catfish bait.