Summary: Addressing Nutrient 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).

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

Types of human activity that affect the Bay's health. Humans either do not see or do not care about the pollution they send into the water. As humans build more factories close to the water or send more waste out of their homes it goes into the Bay causing many problems for the ecosystem. "waste from people's homes, stores, and offices is also treated and discharged into the Bay and its rivers. " (Chesapeake Bay Ecosystem) People do not understand the effects of pollution the Chesapeake Bay Ecosystem says that people believe the water where the pollution is going will dilute the pollution and won’t be as bad. Humans do no understand the problems pollution will cause. The population of the Blue Crabs in the Bay was below average for over 10 years. From 1998 until 2009 the crab ecosystem was so unhealthy they were unable to live and reproduce.

One of the most poorly understood causes ocean pollution is urban runoff. Urban runoff is also one of the leading causes of ocean pollution, Surfrider agrees, “Urban runoff is often the primary source of ocean pollution. The Ocean Friendly Gardens (OFG) Program educates and assists people in creating landscapes that utilize native plants, permeable ground covers and water retention features to prevent urban runoff, create wildlife habitats and design beautiful spaces” (Surfrider). Surfrider has a program called The Ocean Friendly Gardens where Surfrider

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.

Due to the large bodies of water in the county, there is a high risk for drowning. Water quality pollutants in the county come from fertilizers, bacteria from animal feces, sediment from land that are being cleared and stream channel erosion. When the rain falls into farms, parking lots, construction sites, and lawns the water collects pollutants and they get carried to the stream and then eventually end up in the Chesapeake Bay. In 2010 10 out of 15 streams sampled were rated far to poor, E-Coli, dissolved oxygen, fecal coliform, Chlorophyll-A and Polychlorinated Biphenyls were noted in the samples (2013 Natural Resource Indicator Report, 2014). C & R Battery Company Inc. and the Defense General Supply Center DLA were found on the national priority list for the most hazardous waste sites identified by the Environment Protection Agency because it is a risk to human and/or the environment (Virginia Superfund Sites, 2013).

Why is stormwater harmful to the Chesapeake Bay? Storm water is harmful because as it travels it picks up pollutants like fertilizers, sediments, and litter. All of this waste can end up going into streams and rivers. It is destructive for the ecosystems, but there are ways to help prevent this from happening.

Our watershed, the chesapeake bay stretches more than 64,000 square miles and is home to about 18 million people.The bay provides us with a lot of things like fishes,salt and water for farming etc. But, the bay is starting to get polluted and many organisms in the bay are dying because of sediments, algae blooms etc.

Geography Maryland’s Eastern Shore region is comprised of the group of largely rural counties located on the eastern side of the Chesapeake bay. The Chesapeake is a vital resource for the Eastern Shore, as it provides many ecosystem and economic services. Indeed, Maryland’s Department of the Environment is tasked with maintaining the Chesapeake Bay, a project that many Eastern Shore counties take part in. Many parts of the coast in the Eastern Shore are designated as “Critical Areas” for Chesapeake Conservation. All the countries profiled below, except for Caroline County, have coasts on the Chesapeake Bay.

The Virginia General Assembly enacted the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act in 1988 in an effort to promote “the general welfare of the people of the commonwealth.” The act is effective in 84 different localities throughout Virginia. This act was designed to have a positive impact on water quality of the bay itself, and also water throughout Virginia that feed into the bay. Along with improving water quality, it was designed to still allow reasonable development to continue taking place. The act is designed around the theory that land can be used and developed in a way that minimizes negative impacts on water quality. There is a balance between state and local economic interests and water quality that is implemented by a cooperative partnership between the state and Tidewater local government. This partnership helps reduce and prevent nonpoint source pollution.

Today, storm water runoff is the number one cause of pollution in the Puget Sound. The pollutants contained in storm water runoff are mainly caused by urban runoff, factory farming, and chemicals. Urban runoff can produce pollutants such as gasoline, grease, ammonia, manure, toxic chemicals, and pesticides. In factory farming, the main problem is the production of manure which is extremely bad for the Puget Sound because of the high levels of nitrates it contains. Chemicals carry numerous pollutants which can alter marine life genetics and harm human health. Alternatives to the problems lie in green infrastructure, greenroofs, bio-swales, and porous concrete; however, the solution to the

In the course of the past year or so, the world has under gone immense natural disasters. Including but not limited to: hurricanes, tsunamis, wildfires, blizzards, and more. These unfortunate events all have a source of which they occurred. At the same time, the world’s oceans have under gone less noticeable but apparent changes as well. These changes include temperature variations, heightened acidification, intensified salinity, and more. However, a specific issue is the effect of Indiana’s activities impacting ocean life through nutrient and sediment pollution. There is a multifarious number of reasons that could affect ocean life, even in Indiana, which one will discuss throughout this report. One will describe sediment runoff, the

This spring, record breaking floodwaters along the Mississippi River caused massive damage in nine states, totaling over $25 billion dollars in damage (Watts, 2011). In most areas the floodwaters have receded, however there is concern that even a little rain could cause more flooding due to the already saturated land. As cities and towns are beginning the restoration process, one thing caused by the flooding waters cannot be restored. Pollutants’ such as nitrogen from fertilizer, due to this area being primarily composed of farming land, is making its way toward the Gulf of Mexico. Every year pollutants traveling in the Mississippi River enter the Gulf and contribute to the Coastal Dead Zone; however, this year the Dead Zone in the Gulf