About Our Assessments
An Annual Assessment of Chesapeake Bay health and restoration is assembled in the first quarter of each year to provide a synthesis of the previous year's Bay health, factors impacting Bay and watershed health, restoration efforts, and the health of freshwater streams and rivers.
In Bay Health, the most up-to-date monitoring data gathered by Bay Program partners are used to provide a scientifically based assessment of the health of the Bay.
- Progress toward a restored Bay is tracked with 13 “reporting-level” indicators grouped in three priority areas that represent major components of the Bay ecosystem: Water Quality, Habitats & Lower Food Web and Fish & Shellfish.
- Quantitative restoration goals have been set for most of these indicators.
- For each indicator, a chart shows, as a percent of the goal, current status and a history of progress toward achieving the goal.
- A summary bar chart shows the current status of each indicator with respect to its restoration goal.
- It is important to note that progress cannot be calculated on a day-to-day basis. By using detailed scientific data that have been carefully analyzed and interpreted; we can see changes in the health of the Bay over time. Change is occurring, but slowly.
- “Supporting indicators” are related to the reporting-level indicators for diagnostic purposes or to provide additional details. You can link to these indicators from the reporting-level indicator web pages.
In Restoration and Protection Efforts, key restoration actions are measured against long-term restoration goals to provide an assessment of the work being done to restore Bay health.
- Progress is tracked with 20 “reporting-level” indicators grouped into the five priority areas described in the landmark Chesapeake 2000 agreement that represent major elements of the Bay restoration effort: Reducing Pollution, Restoring Habitats, Managing Fisheries, Protecting Watersheds and Fostering Stewardship.
- Quantitative goals have been set for most of these indicators. For each, a chart shows the current status and a history of percent of progress toward achieving the goal. All of the charts have the same time scale: 1985-2010. In cases where measurement began or a goal was agreed to after 1985, a symbol on the chart indicates when “accounting began.”
- In the section “Reducing Pollution,” efforts are compared to goals defined by the Bay jurisdictions' river-specific cleanup plans. Monitoring and tracking data and computer simulations are used in this section.
- In the remaining parts, restoration efforts are compared to goals adopted by the Bay Program. Monitoring and tracking data are used in these sections.
- “Supporting indicators” are related to the reporting-level indicators for diagnostic purposes or to provide additional details. You can link to these indicators from the reporting-level indicator web pages.
In Factors Impacting Bay and Watershed Health, the most current monitoring data available are used to provide an assessment of various factors impacting the health of the Bay and its watershed.
- Factors impacting Bay and watershed heath are tracked with 14 “reporting-level” indicators grouped in four priority areas that represent major stressors to the Bay ecosystem.
- Supporting indicators” are related to the reporting-level indicators for diagnostic purposes or to provide additional details. You can link to these indicators from the reporting-level indicator web pages.
In Watershed Health, monitoring data gathered by Bay Program state partners as part of their federal 305b/303d reporting requirements are used to provide a summary of local water quality assessments.
- Each state in the watershed conducts benthic macroinvertebrate assessments as part of its biennial water-quality assessment report mandated by the Clean Water Act. Where assessed benthic macroinvertebrate communities are deemed the most degraded, states must designate those stream segments as impaired and add them to the list of impaired waters in need of cleanup.
- A map presents a summary of each state's assessment results within the boundaries of the Chesapeake Bay watershed.