Cleaning Up the Bay: Milestones
A brief graphic from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation that depicts the EPA’s Chesapeake Bay Program Watershed Model. The columns are separated by pollution source — agriculture, urban runoff, wastewater, septic, and all the above. The rows are separated by state, and then within state by nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment pollution. The large majority of goals have been met by states. By source, wastewater has been regulated the best as it has the highest success rate in terms of meeting its 2017 pollution reduction goal. By pollutant, nitrogen tends to be the most consistently troubling across all the states and sources. West Virginia wins in terms of being on track. Fortunately, the holistic goals of total source pollution reduction are, for the most part, being met.
Progress of Clean Water
This interactive map helps to show what policies are being put in place to clean the bay, and where they are being implemented. You can zoom in and click on the little icons to learn more.
Creating Jobs
Watch the video to learn how a healthy bay helps to stimulate a healthy economy. The following clip will inform you on how the pollution reduction targets is not the alleged “job killer”, but rather has helped create a number of jobs across the region. Not only that, but a healthier bay is important for both commercial and recreational fishing, tourism, and ecological health. By helping the environment, we help ourselves.
Chesapeake Bay Pollution Management: TMDL
Total Maximum Daily Load
https://www.epa.gov/chesapeake-bay-tmdl
Reducing Sediment Load
Learn more about sediment pollution and reduction efforts here!
