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Browse through maps depicting Bay health and restoration, including pollution trends, public access sites and more.

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Showing 21 - 30 of 106

Average 2000-2010 Stream Health in the Chesapeake Bay Sub-watersheds

Date created: May 29, 2013

An effective way to measure the health of freshwater streams and rivers is to study the many tiny critters that live in these waters, called “benthic macro-invertebrates.” The abundance and diversity of snails, mussels, insects and other bottom-dwelling organisms are good indicators of the health of streams because they can’t move very far and they respond to pollution and environmental stresses. Benthic macroinvertebrates are generally harmed by direct and indirect effects of pollutants such as metals, acidity, sediment, pesticides, nitrogen and phosphorus. These pollutants come from sources such as mining, agriculture, urban and suburban runoff, automobile and power plant exhaust, and wastewater treatment facilities. Health of streams was evaluated by the Chesapeake Bay Basin-wide Benthic Index of Biotic Integrity (or “Chessie B-IBI”), which was developed from benthic macroinvertebrate data collected across the entire Chesapeake Bay watershed from over 20 federal, state, local, and river basin commission monitoring programs throughout the Chesapeake Bay basin. Each sampling event is scored on a standardized quantitative scale that allows scoring across jurisdictional boundaries. B-IBI scores were averaged for each site over all years of sampling (2000-2010) and then qualitatively categorized in one of the following categories – very poor, poor, fair, good or excellent for a total of 15,112 scored sites. An analysis was conducted on a subset of the 15,112 sites to investigate regional variation in the B-IBI scores. The subset of sites (8,871) were chosen where a random sampling design was used. By using only randomly selected sites, BIBI scores can be averaged across the smallest feasible watershed size without introducing bias associated with sampling designs that target areas with known degraded or high quality waters. For more information see: Buchanan, C., K. Foreman, J. Johnson, and A. Griggs. 2011. Development of a Basin-wide Benthic Index of Biotic Integrity for Non-Tidal Streams and Wadeable Rivers in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed: Final Report to the Chesapeake Bay Program Non- Tidal Water Quality Workgroup. ICPRB Report 11-1. Report prepared for the US Environmental Protection Agency, Chesapeake Bay Program.

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Bay Grasses (SAV) Restoration Goal Achievement: Single Best Year 2010-2012

Date created: April 17, 2013

This map shows progress toward achieving the Chesapeake Bay Program segment-specific underwater bay grass restoration goals. It is based on the single best year of acreage as observed through the most recent three years of data from the Chesapeake Bay underwater bay grasses aerial survey.

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Fish Passage Progress (2012) in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed

Date created: April 2, 2013

Fish passage is a key component to the restoration of anadromous fish (shad and river herring) in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. These fish are blocked from much of their historic spawning areas, which included waters over 200 miles from the Bay. Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia have set goals to provide fish passage to make much of those historic spawning areas once again accessible to migratory fish. Other species that benefit from the unblocking of streams include eels, native species such as brook trout and other resident species.

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Riparian Forest Buffer Restoration (2012)

Date created: April 2, 2013

This map shows the locations of riparian forest buffer restoration projects throughout the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. Project locations were provided by Forestry Workgroup representatives from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, the Virginia Department of Forestry, the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the West Virginia Division of Forestry, the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control and the Upper Susquehanna Coalition.

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Maryland Tier II Catchments

Date created: February 28, 2013

Non- tidal watersheds, under regulatory anti-degradation protection, that exceed minimum applicable water quality criteria and standards. Currently, Tier II streams are identified according to fish and benthic indices of biotic integrity.

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Watersheds Dominated by Existing Use of Exceptional Value or High Quality- PA

Date created: February 27, 2013

Existing Use establishes protection for a waterbody on or after November 28, 1975 whether or not that use is included in the water quality standards (25 Pa. Code §93.1 and 40 CFR §131.3(e)). Existing Use is different from a Designated Use; Designated Use is defined for each waterbody or segment whether or not the use is being attained. Existing Use is the actual use the waterbody is attaining at the time of an evaluation. The Department maintains a publicly accessible list of surface water segments where data has been evaluated which indicates an existing use classification of a waterbody that is more protective than the designated use (including those segments which are HQ or EV). Only an existing use which is more stringent than the designated use in §§ 93.9a - 93.9z for a particular waterbody is placed on the existing use list. This GIS watershed layer (which is not part of the Water Quality Standards) is offered to provide a spatial representation of the Aquatic Life Use Tiers contained in the portion of the Pennsylvania Code referenced above. These spatial representations are intended to supplement the Water Quality Standards but should not be substituted for the official version of the standards found in the Pennsylvania Code.

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