MIDDLE RIVER, MD—In response to the unprecedented populations of swarming midges along Baltimore County’s waterfront this season, the Department of Environmental Protection and Sustainability (DEPS) will modify the next helicopter treatment of Back River to double the treatment area to include the previous 1,200 acres of upper Back River plus 2,400 acres of lower Back River.
Using this modified treatment method, the helicopter will fly 90-foot wide passes across the river rather than the previous 45-foot passes, using the same quantity of Bti.
“Please keep in mind that there are only two or three programs in the world that are treating this order of magnitude for midges,” said DEPS officials on Tuesday. “In close consultation with experts in industry and academia, we are learning as we go and making adjustments based on monitoring data and changing conditions.”
Midges are small flies belonging to several families, primarily the Chironomidae, which are often mistaken for mosquitoes but do not bite. They are commonly found near water bodies and play important roles in ecosystems, such as serving as food for fish and other wildlife.
DEPS plans to conduct the next round of helicopter application of midge treatment on the upper and lower Back River starting Wednesday June 18th and concluding on Thursday, June 19th. Officials say the timing and dates are dependent on changing wind and weather conditions and may be adjusted. This remediation effort is a cooperative program in conjunction with the Maryland Department of Agriculture.
The current treatment area of Back River costs $1.3 million per season, funded jointly by Maryland Department of Agriculture and Baltimore County. DEPS is expanding monitoring of midge larvae to include Middle River, and is exploring whether there may be additional funding from state or federal sources to cover costs of treatment in this and other Baltimore County tidal waterways where monitoring may indicate midge levels significantly above nuisance levels
