The Chesapeake Bay: How is it Doing? An Overview of The Chesapeake Bay Watershed

CBP 1/5/06 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Maryland Delaware New York District of Columbia Virginia West Virginia Pennsylvania Covers Portions of Six States Spreads over 64,000 square miles

CBP 1/5/06 The Chesapeake Bay is An Estuary A place where fresh water mixes with salt water from the ocean

The Bay is Economically Important The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in North America and is home to more than 3,700 species of plants and animals

CBP 1/5/06 Nearly 17 million people live in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed By 2030 the number is expected to exceed 20 million

CBP 1/5/06 Interesting Facts About the Chesapeake Bay The Bay holds more than 15 trillion gallons of water. The Bay is surprisingly shallow. Its average depth, including all tidal tributaries, is about 21 feet. Of the 50 largest tributaries that flow into the Bay, just three deliver about 80 percent of Bay’s fresh water: the Susquehanna River (48 percent), the Potomac River (19 percent) and the James River (14 percent).

The Bay Provides Important Habitat for Wildlife The Chesapeake Bay is a very important resource: It offers a wide variety of recreational opportunities for residents and visitors. It provides a huge natural habitat for wildlife.

CBP 1/5/06 Economic value of the Chesapeake Bay is conservatively estimated at more than $1 trillion from Tourism Commercial Fisheries Shipping Recreational Boating Recreational Fishing

CBP 1/5/06 Despite small successes in certain parts of the ecosystem and specific geographic areas, the overall health of the Chesapeake Bay did not improve in The Bay continues to have poor water quality, degraded habitats, and low populations of many species of fish and shellfish. Based on these three areas, the overall health averaged 38 percent, with 100 percent representing a fully restored ecosystem. The EPAs Chesapeake Bay Program rates the overall health of the Chesapeake Bay at 38%

CBP 1/5/06 Threats to the Bay and Rivers The Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries are unhealthy primarily because of pollution from excess nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment entering the water. The main sources of these pollutants are agriculture, urban and suburban runoff, wastewater, and airborne contaminants.

CBP 1/5/06 Principle Sources of Pollutants

CBP 1/5/06 Impacts of Increased Nutrients And Sediments Low dissolved oxygen Harmful algal blooms Reduced water clarity or an increase in turbidity

CBP 1/5/06 How Pollutants Enter the Bay Nonpoint Sources Run-off from farmland Run-off from lawns and paved areas Point Sources Industry Wastewater Treatment Plants

Cows in Streams Stormwater and groundwater carry nutrients and sediment into rivers and the Bay from a variety of point and nonpoint sources.

CBP 1/5/06 Things to do to Protect the Bay Reduce Pollution Restore Habitats Manage Fisheries Foster Stewardship Preserve Lands

CBP 1/5/06 Chesapeake 2000 Agreement “by 2010, correct the nutrient ‑ and sediment ‑ related problems in the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries sufficiently to remove the Bay and the tidal portions of its tributaries from the list of impaired waters under the Clean Water Act”. In June 2000, the Chesapeake Bay Program partners signed a new agreement to guide the restoration and protection of the Bay through the next decade and beyond. In Chesapeake 2000, the partners agreed to:

CBP 1/5/06 The Bay and its rivers are doing better than they were when the first Chesapeake Bay Agreement was signed in 1983, but we still have a way to go before we reach our goals for a restored Chesapeake.

CBP 1/5/06 The Chesapeake Bay is a beautiful place. By protecting the Bay, we are more likely to preserve our economy and the health of the living things that call the Bay home.