Storm Water Pollution In The Chesapeake Bay

The Chesapeake Bay is a 200-mile-long estuary extending from Norfolk, VA to Havre de grace Maryland. On average this bay contains about 68 trillion liters of water. This bay is the largest estuary in North America. It inhabits more than 3,000 species of plants, animals, and fish. “Since the early twentieth century, the Chesapeake Bay has experienced serious environmental degradation. Problems include large reductions in sea grass, reduced amounts of finfish and shellfish (especially oysters and crab), seasonal depletions in dissolved oxygen, and increases in sedimentation.” (Atkins & Anderson, 2003) These changes are brought on by pollution (Eutrophication and Toxic Contamination), development, deforestation, and agriculture. And according

An issue that was present in few specific cities in Maryland have now expanded throughout the entire state. The Chesapeake Bay, a large estuary that has an extremely complex ecosystem that is vital to important habitats and food webs in this area. The Chesapeake bay is arguably one of the most productive environments in the United States. Over the years, this bay has been in a decline of wellness. Pollution, contaminants, and many other factors are destroying the overall well being of these waters, and completely messing up the important ecosystem that has been built there. Although there is an extreme amount of Marylanders fighting for the restoration of the Chesapeake, there are also who are not.

Scientists and researchers began giving a large volume of effort and look into the extremely complex problems that face the Chesapeake Bay. When research for the improving and saving of the Bay’s overall health began it seemed very simple and there were only a couple of problems. The problems included nutrients from agricultural runoff; these nutrients were phosphorus and nitrogen. The combination of the nutrients in the Bay caused a large volume of algae that choked some of the marine life. While bringing in algae the nutrients also killed grasses on the seafloor. These seafloor bed grasses that once covered more than half of the Chesapeake Bay’s floor now only covered a tenth of their original area. Though the estuary was having problems it did not receive the terrible pollution from industries that many large rivers and lakes do in other urban areas (Brown, p. 397).

In order to help save the Bay some changes need to be made, human activity must change, the Bays health needs to become a higher priority and the steps that could be taken to restore the health of the Bay need to be discussed.

Nowadays, the most water pollution in Washington States comes from storm-water runoffs. Storm-water discharges are generated by runoff from land and impervious areas such as paved streets, parking lots, and building rooftops. During rainfall and snow events that often contain pollutants in quantities that could adversely affect water quality. Moreover, toxic chemical runoff from storm-water has an impact on organisms and human health. Therefore, this essay will focus on Puget Sound storm-water pollution, how they impact on living organisms, some solution of storm-water pollution, and why do we should care about of Puget

The Chesapeake Bay, which derives from the Algonquin word Chesepiooc meaning “great shellfish bay”, has been around for a very long time. Approximately 35 million years ago, a rare bolide (a comet- or asteroid-like object) hit what is now the lower tip of the Delmarva Peninsula, creating a 55-mile-wide crater. The bolide created what geologists call the “Exmore Crater,” which they believe was as large as Rhode Island and as deep as the Grand Canyon. Although this bolide did not create the Chesapeake Bay, it helped determine that a bay would eventually be located there.

The importance of the Chesapeake Bay is introduced. The bay is home to a large amount of seafood businesses, and many people fish the bay and its tributaries for sport. Grass beds are essential to many of the organisms living in this ecosystem, but are being destroyed by pollution. Agriculture involves more than a fourth of the bay's watershed. This makes agricultural runoff a big focus. Excessive nitrogen and phosphorus causes eutrophication. These nutrients come from pesticides and sewage also. A goal was set in 1985 to cut back the percent of nutrients being put into the bay by these two sources. It is thought that redirecting the flow of soil with nutrients in them will reduce the runoff, but if the nutrients seep into groundwater they still get into the Chesapeake Bay. Farmers have ways to help reduce these nutrient levels, but it is not the cheapest way to farm, so not all farmers are doing their part to save the bay. Another contributor of runoff land development. Runoff can occur from exposed land being prepared to be developed, or because of what has been used to replace what used to naturally be.

Scene in Fig. 1.1., the Chesapeake Bay is substantial in size; at roughly 64,000 miles, it contains roughly fifty rivers and thousands of streams and creeks. It encompasses parts of 6 states, including all of Washington, DC. The Chesapeake Bay is what is known as a watershed, an area that contributes to the drainage to a water body, stream, river, lake or ocean. Rainwater that falls within the 64,000 square miles that is the Chesapeake Bay will subsequently travel through many streams and rivers, eventually making its way into the largest estuary system in the United States.

In this research paper I will talk about how a large decrease in the algae population in the Chesapeake Bay will cause problems for not just fish and other species but the people who fish and make a living off of it. A large decrease in algae population will have a domino effect on the food chain. Having a major decrease in algae will hurt how others species live and protect themselves.

The runoff carries pollutants such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediments into the Bay. In urban areas the standard city block creates five times more runoff than a forested area. About 30% of runoff in an urban area is evaporated, 55% stays runoff, and the other 15% soaks into the land with a variation of deep and shallow infiltration. About 40% of runoff in a forest evaporates, 10% stays runoff, and the extra 50% seeps into the ground with a variation of deep and shallow infiltration. The runoff is actually the fastest growing source of pollution for the Chesapeake

The main rivers of the Chesapeake Bay is the Susquehanna, Potomac, James, Rappahannock, Chester, Nanticoke, Patuxent, and the Choptank rivers (Sprague et al 2000). The main rivers of the Chesapeake Bay watershed send about 51 billion gallons of freshwater into the Bay each day (Chesapeake Bay Program n.d.). These rivers are homes to many fish, amphibians, invertebrates, and other animals. Not only do aquatic animals live in these rivers, plenty of aquatic plants live there too (Chesapeake Bay Program n.d.). There are many factors that could affect the health of the Chesapeake Bay including litter, debris, sediment pollution, chemical contaminants, and any man made objects (Chesapeake Bay Program n.d.). Any litter and debris will work its way up to the Bay from the rivers and smother any grass beds along with bottom dwelling creators and add chemical contaminants to the water. Any excess nutrients that come from urban runoff or vehicle emissions will cause harmful algae to grow which blocks sunlight and does not allow plants to grow due to low oxygen dead zones

The Chesapeake Bay Watershed is considered of national high importance due to its 64,000 square miles and 17.4 million people inhabitants. However, this has not been sufficient to improve the health of the ecosystem over the last 25 years. The primary reasons for this lack of improvement are the lack of knowledge and information of the people living on the watershed, the multistate composition of the watershed and the broad range of activities that the watershed supports.

The road’s surface will generate stormwater that will contain contaminants such as hydrocarbons and heavy metals. The stormwater will be treated and directed into 6 wetlands, where the contaminants will be diluted and discharged directly into the Marine environment. Although the contaminants will be diluted, the concentrations of them in the receiving environments will gradually increase. There is likely to be adverse effects on the affected environments due to the new source of contaminants. The amount of contaminants has not been evaluated and the effects will be determined by how effective the treatment of the stormwater is. The contaminants could potentially result in the loss of some susceptible macroinvertebrates (Boffa Miskell, 2014).

A new epidemic is sweeping our country. This epidemic affects Men, Women, And Children, no one is immune and the worst part about it is... it can be prevented.The problem I am talking about is, The rivers in our communities are polluted and the reason for that is storm drain runoff.

Recall the last time you drove across the Golden Gate Bridge; looking to the sea and seeing the whitecaps break against the rocks, and then looking at the bay and seeing the shimmering aqua colored water filled with sailboats. But now, try and imagine a very different picture, you look towards the bay and see oil slicks, floating tires, and islands of trash as the smell of rotting fish, gasoline and sewage fill your nose. This may sound strange and fictional, but the truth is it isn’t far from possible. In fact, some of the these pollutants are flowing into the San Francisco bay already. Imagine living next to a place like this, how would that make you feel? More importantly, what are the physical health effects as a result of these pollutants? In the following article, we will explore how something like this is possible (if not probable), and what effects it could have on the health of the Bay Area.