Fighting To Save The Bay
Declining Water Quality in the Chesapeake Bay Galvanizes Efforts To Repair The Country’s Largest Estuary
As summer approaches and beachgoers eagerly anticipate fun in the sun, concern grows among environmentalist and local about Chesapeake Beach’s water quality.
An hour east of Washington, D.C., and south of Annapolis, Chesapeake Beach is located midpoint on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay. It is a place of scenic beaches, locally owned shops, unique eateries, glistening sun, and cool, gentle waves that invite tourists from all over the country and the world.
In recent years, though, this Calvert County town has been struggling with a pressing environmental challenge: declining water quality in the Chesapeake Bay. The water quality here is impacted by nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment pollution, all of which rose during the 2019–2021 water-quality assessment period according to the latest report by Chesapeake Progress, an oversight group monitoring progress towards restoring the Bay in accordance with The Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement.
The most recent assessment shows Bay-wide water quality declining slightly to an attainment score of 28.1 percent. That’s the percentage of tidal waters estimated to meet desired water-quality standards during the 2019–2021 study assessment. This is a slight decrease from 28.9 percent during the 2018–2020 period. Both assessments show a continued decline in the Bay’s water quality from the 42.2 percent attainment level reached during 2015–2017 assessment period. Runoff from wetter weather in 2018 increased the nutrient and sediment loads to the Bay, which are still impacting water quality. This issue has sparked concerns among local residents and environmentalists who want to address the root causes of pollution and habitat degradation.
Human activities such as urban development, agriculture, offshore drilling, and chemical contamination have contributed to pollution and habitat loss in the Chesapeake Bay, according to the Chesapeak Bay Foundation. All of this is disrupting the delicate balance of life in the largest estuary in the United States. Runoff pollution containing pet waste, pesticides, fertilizers, oils, and other contaminants has led to harmful algal blooms, habitat loss, and oxygen-depleted “dead zones,” threatening the bay’s biodiversity and overall health. The Bay watershed continues to lose forestland at the rate of 70 acres a day. It is estimated that by 2030, 9.5 million acres of forest will be subject to increased development. This results in loss of air and water filters, wildlife habitat, and other significant functions that forests provide. Development also causes more sediment pollution to run into and muddy our waters and Bay during construction.
The Bay watershed continues to lose forestland at the rate of 70 acres a day.
A number of proposed restoration projects are attempting to address the root causes of pollution and habitat degradation. Government agencies, environmental groups, non-profits, and residents are collaborating to implement solutions aimed at restoring and protecting the Bay.
One key initiative is the Chesapeake Tree Canopy Network, which protects and restores the Chesapeake Bay watershed by cleaning the air, reducing stormwater pollution, providing shade and energy savings, nurturing wildlife, and enhancing the local economy and quality of life. The US Fish and Wildlife Service also has a plan to establish new national wildlife refuges in surrounding Maryland counties to help improve water quality in the Bay. States bordering the Chesapeake Bay are also working to upgrade water treatment plants to reduce nutrient pollution into the bay.
Despite some progress, challenges remain. Limited funding, conflicting priorities, and climate change all present obstacles to the restoration efforts. Rising sea levels and increasingly severe weather patterns emphasize the need for flexible solutions tailored to Chesapeake Beach’s unique coastal environment.
Nevertheless, Chesapeake Beach residents and environmental organizations are optimistic. Through collaborative action and innovative proposals organizations including the Chesapeake Conservancy, Chesapeake Bay Foundation and the US Fish and Wildlife Service are working for a brighter future for the Bay. One example is using tailored data sets to achieve what the Chesapeake Conservancy calls precision conservation — tailoring the right conservation projects at the time and place. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation, founded in 1966, claims to be the largest independent conservation agency dedicated to restoring the bay and promotes a variety of programs and initiatives aimed at its motto: “Save the Bay.”
The Environmental Protection Agency and the [bordering]states are spending billions on upgrading treatment plants. The list is long. With a watershed of 64 million acres, the challenge is great.
Joseph McCauley, a retired USFWS agent and current Chesapeake Conservancy fellow, says, “There are many organizations and agencies working to improve Bay water quality, including Chesapeake Conservancy. We have created high resolution ground cover data to more precisely place best management practices on [agricultural] lands, our [Pennsylvania] team is working with other partners to establish best management practices to ‘de-list’ impaired streams in Pennsylvania. The Environmental Protection Agency and the states are spending billions on upgrading treatment plants. The list is long. With a watershed of 64 million acres, the challenge is great.”
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It provides a habitat for wildlife and its ecosystem impacts the air, water and food vital to the Mid-Atlantic region and beyond.
Recently, the decline in the water quality in the Bay has been evident in more frequent warnings about no swimming after rain fall due to overloads of bacteria because of rain pollution. With climate change and higher temperatures in the summer, this causes the bay to be warmer than usual, making it the perfect habitat for bacteria including E. coli, Giardia, Shigella and even Vibrio (flesh eating bacteria) which have all been found to be in the Bay. The water, too, especially in Chesapeake Beach, Maryland, has been a darker and murkier color than usual making it unappealing for tourists to swim in.
There are now endangered species living in the Chesapeake Bay due to habitat loss, pollution, climate change and other factors affecting water quality. An important species living in the Chesapeake Bay waters is the dwarf wedgemussel. These mussels rely on healthy freshwater streams that include minimal sediment, a stable stream bed, and plenty of dissolved oxygen. Rapid land development has led to degraded water quality in areas where dwarf wedge mussels live, causing populations to decline.
The Rappahannock River, which runs across the norther boundary of Virginia and drains into the Chesapeake Bay south of D.C. and the Potomac River, is an example of the challenges the estuary faces. “The river is rarely what I would call ‘clean’ visually, often running brown especially after a heavy rain upstream,” says McCauley. “But I have come to learn that water quality is measured in different ways to assess different parameters. I have noticed that the “dead zones” where excess nutrients cause algal blooms that deplete dissolved oxygen still occur too frequently in summer months.
The good news, he adds, is that, “The Rappahannock remains fishable and swimmable.”
McCauley has been working on a proposed wildlife refuge in Southern Maryland. The proposal was open for public review and comment through April and now awaits a decision expected by the end of the year. McCauley is no stranger to this task. In the past, he helped guide a consortium of organizations — the Rivers of the Chesapeake Landscape Conservation Collaborative, the Chesapeake Conservation Partnership and his own agency, the Chesapeake Conservancy, among them — in adding 18,000 acres of land around the Bay to the National Wildlife Refuge system.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is currently proposing to establish a new National Wildlife Refuge in Southern Maryland encompassing 577,000 acres in four watershed focus areas. The agency hopes to preserve up to 40,000 acres within that boundary from willing sellersusing funds from the Land and Water Conservation Fund and Migratory Bird Conservation Fund.
“Land conservation will keep land uses in their natural state, preventing conversion to land uses that contribute to water quality degradation.,” says McCauley. “Forests, especially riparian forests, help dampen the impacts of severe storms and help hold sediments from running into waterways. Developed areas exacerbate runoff from roads, driveways, rooftops. Chemicals and nutrients from manicured lawns often end up in nearby streams.”
Another key initiative in improving the water quality of the Chesapeake Bay is the Chesapeake Tree Canopy Network. Since 2003, Chesapeake Bay bordering states and partners have set goals for urban tree canopies to be able to improve clean air, reduce stormwater pollution, provide shade and energy savings, nurture wildlife, and enhance the local economy and quality of life.
In Calvert County, Maryland, where Chesapeake Beach is located, there is more than 65 percent tree canopy coverage, a lot considering it is a beach town.
Much still needs to be done to improve the water quality in the Bay, especially in Chesapeake Beach, including, says McCauley, decreasing agricultural runoff, better managing of forests and urban/suburban interfaces and upgrading municipal sewage treatment. “All of which are happening,” says McCauley.
The sun sets over the Chesapeake Bay, painting the sky in hues of gold and orange, a reminder of the special beauty of this unique place. Despite the challenges posed by pollution, habitat loss, and urban development, signs of progress shimmer on the horizon. The bay is still filled with life, proof that there is collective work being done to resolve and restore its vitality.
