Clean Water

Reducing Excess Nitrogen, Phosphorus & Sediment

Outcome:

Implement and maintain practices and controls to reduce nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment. These reductions are necessary to achieve the applicable water quality standards, as described in the Bay TMDL. Those water quality standards support living resources and protect human health, as required by the Clean Water Act.

• Through 2030, signatories will continue to accelerate completion of all interim water quality planning targets through implementation of Chesapeake Bay Watershed Implementation Plans, two-year milestone commitments and other innovative strategies to achieve and maintain reduced levels of nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment.
• By December 31, 2030, revise the planning targets approved by the Principals’ Staff Committee for nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment, incorporating the latest watershed modeling, monitoring data and research findings, and develop new or amended Watershed Implementation Plans to meet the updated targets by 2040.
• Demonstrate net reductions in nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment through multiple lines of evidence, including modeling and monitoring data.

Toxic & Emerging Contaminants

While chemical contamination is often characterized as a localized problem occurring in “hot spots” or “regions of concern,” toxic contaminants exceed water quality criteria in at least part of each tidal tributary that delivers water to the central channel of the Bay. These contaminants can negatively affect the survival, growth and reproduction of fish and wildlife, and pose a threat to human health when contaminated organisms are part of a person's diet.

Outcome:

Reduce the amount and effect of toxic contaminants, such as PCBs, plastics, mercury and PFAS, on the waters, lands, fisheries, wildlife and communities of the Chesapeake Bay watershed through an increased understanding of their impacts and mitigation options.

• Promote information sharing between researchers, program managers and policymakers on the lessons learned, best practices and most up-to-date science, policy and communications around the toxic contaminants impacting the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

Water Quality, Standards Attainment & Monitoring

Monitoring the attainment of water quality standards provides the information needed to track trends in nutrient and sediment pollution and assess whether Chesapeake Bay water quality is sufficient to support aquatic life.

Outcome:

Measure changing water quality conditions by maintaining monitoring networks and tracking our collective progress toward achieving clean water, throughout the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed.

• Maintain full core monitoring network operations (i.e., nontidal water quality, SAV, tidal water quality, benthic and community science) annually to support analysis and communication of water quality loads, trends and criteria attainment.
• Develop and expand partnership-approved approaches for assessing whether water quality criteria are being met for all designated uses. For dissolved oxygen criteria, establish an approved method by 2028 and apply the method for data analysis and reporting by the end of 2030.
• Maintain or exceed the rate of improvement in the water quality standards attainment indicator relative to the 1985-2022 baseline.
• Analyze and report status/loads, trends and factors affecting those trends for nontidal and tidal water quality.