Chesapeake Bay Program
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Bay Resource Library
June 23, 2017
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There are hundreds of thousands of creeks, streams and rivers in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. These tributaries send fresh water into the Bay and offer vital habitat to aquatic plants and animals. These tributaries also provide people with public access points where they can fish, boat and swim. While pollution and the installation of dams, culverts and other structures can affect the health of rivers and streams, local cleanups and reductions in polluted runoff can conserve their health.
The rivers and streams in the Chesapeake Bay watershed send about 51 billion gallons of fresh water into the Bay each day. Almost 90 percent of this fresh water comes from just five of these tributaries: the Susquehanna, Potomac, Rappahannock, York and James. These rivers are home to a diverse population of invertebrates, amphibians, fish and other critters:
Rivers and streams also provide people with much-needed public access points where they can fish, boat and swim, observe wildlife, and reconnect with the watershed. Building personal connections with the environment can benefit public health and conservation and stewardship efforts.
Litter and debris, nutrient and sediment pollution, chemical contaminants, and the installation of dams, culverts and other structures can affect the health of rivers and streams.
Aquatic litter and debris includes plastic bags, cigarette butts, beverage bottles and other waste that enters the marine environment. Sometimes, this waste is thrown onto a street or into a waterway on purpose; other times, it enters the environment accidentally. In urban and suburban areas, waste that is on a street or sidewalk can be pushed into storm drains, rivers and streams when it rains. Aquatic litter can detract from an area’s beauty, smother grass beds and bottom-dwelling organisms, add chemical contaminants to the water, or be ingested by animals.
Excess nutrients enter the water through agricultural and urban runoff, vehicle emissions and other sources. These nutrients can fuel the growth of harmful algae blooms, which block sunlight from reaching underwater grasses and lead to low-oxygen dead zones that suffocate marine life.
Excess sediment enters the water through agricultural and urban runoff, stream bank and shoreline erosion, and other sources. Suspended sediment can block sunlight from reaching underwater grasses, smother oysters and other bottom-dwelling species, and clog ports and channels.
Almost three-quarters of the Chesapeake Bay’s tidal waters are considered impaired by chemical contaminants. These contaminants include pesticides, pharmaceuticals, metals and other substances that can harm the health of both humans and wildlife. These contaminants enter rivers and streams through air pollution, agricultural and urban runoff, and wastewater.
Dams, culverts and other structures can alter the flow of rivers and streams, accelerate the accumulation of sediment and block migratory fish from reaching their spawning ground. In some areas, dams are being removed or lifts, ladders and passageways are being installed to reopen river habitat and allow fish to swim upstream.
As part of the 2014 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement, Chespeake Bay Program partners committed to a goal of improving the health and function of ten percent of stream miles above a 2008 baseline for the watershed.
For Chesapeake Bay restoration to be a success, we all must do our part. Our everyday actions can have a big impact on the Bay. By making simple changes in our lives, each one of us can take part in restoring the Bay and its rivers for future generations to enjoy.
To conserve the health of rivers and streams, consider reducing the amount of pollution that can run off of your property. Install a green roof, rain garden or rain barrel to capture and absorb rainfall; use porous surfaces like gravel or pavers in place of asphalt or concrete; and redirect home downspouts onto grass or gravel rather than paved driveways or sidewalks. You can also follow safe and legal disposal methods of paint, motor oil and other household chemicals to make sure they do not run into rivers and streams, and participate in local stream cleanups.
The maximum temperature, in degrees Celsius, that brook trout can tolerate
Annual event measures clarity of Patuxent River
Chesapeake Bay Program partners opened new places to fish, boat, kayak and canoe
Indigenous women walk for the spirit and health of the Potomac River
Green Aquia counts restoration and citizen science among the group’s activities near the Potomac
Between 2000-2010, more than 14,005 sites were sampled and rated for biological integrity. The average stream health scores in a subset (10,492) of these of these sampling locations indicated that:
This data will be updated in the fall of 2016.
About 80 percent of monitoring sites in the Chesapeake Bay watershed show improving long-term flow-adjusted trends in nitrogen concentrations. Between 1985 and 2014:
For more information, visit the U.S. Geological Survey’s Summary of Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Suspended-Sediment Loads and Trends Measured at the Chesapeake Bay Nontidal Network Stations: Water Year 2014 Update.
Four of the monitoring sites in the Chesapeake Bay watershed show improving long-term flow-adjusted trends in phosphorus concentrations. Between 1985 and 2014:
For more information, visit the U.S. Geological Survey’s Summary of Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Suspended-Sediment Loads and Trends Measured at the Chesapeake Bay Nontidal Network Stations: Water Year 2014 Update.
Four of the monitoring sites in the Chesapeake Bay watershed show improving long-term flow-adjusted trends in suspended sediment concentrations. Between 1985 and 2014:
For more information, visit the U.S. Geological Survey’s Summary of Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Suspended-Sediment Loads and Trends Measured at the Chesapeake Bay Nontidal Network Stations: Water Year 2014 Update.
In 2015, 77 stream miles were opened to fish passage in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. This brings the restoration total to 817 miles since 2011, which is an 82 percent achievement of the 1,000-mile goal.
We asked people around Washington, DC what they think is being done to protect their local rivers, and what things we should all be doing to help keep our water clean.
Peter Hill and Stephen Reiling from the District Department of the Environment take us on a tour of two successful stream restoration projects in Washington, D.C., and explain why controlling polluted stormwater runoff from cities is so important to Chesapeake Bay restoration.
Closed captions: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToijHlsv9y0
More than 5,000 volunteers picked up close to 300,000 pounds of trash at 250 different sites around the Chesapeake Bay region during the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay’s annual Project Clean Stream in April 2011. See how everyday people like you are doing their part to help create a healthy environment and healthy future.
Learn more about Project Clean Stream at allianceforthebay.org/pcs
Publication date: February 23, 2004 | Type of document: Backgrounder | Download: Electronic Version
Over the past two centuries numerous mill dams, hydroelectric dams and small blockages were constructed, which prevented fish throughout the Bay watershed from reaching their natal rivers. Migratory fish populations consequently suffered…
Publication date: November 11, 2001 | Type of document: Backgrounder | Download: Electronic Version
Riparian forests are essential interfaces between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. They intercept surface runoff, subsurface flow and deeper ground water flows for purposes of removing or buffering effects from nutrients, pesticides or…
