Week 2 of Choptank Riverkeepers’ Tidal Water Quality Monitoring program is in the books and the news was about all the pollen that’s collecting on the water surface.

Unlike an algal bloom, pollen is not a threat to water quality, it just looks bad. On Thursday, staff sampled along the middle Choptank River, Island Creek, La Trappe Creek, and Bolingbroke Creek and water quality conditions featured high oxygen levels, good water clarity, and average salinity. The water temperature is hovering around 60 degrees on the surface and cooler at the bottom. The previous week, samples were taken on the upper Choptank River and Tuckahoe Creek, where good water quality conditions were also noted.

To learn more about the state of water quality in the Choptank River, attend free presentations scheduled for 5:30-7 p.m. April 26 at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michaels and 5:30-7 p.m. May 10 in Cambridge at 447 Race St.