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Joshua Rosenbach
Professor Juliette Ludeker
English 121
9 November 2013
Chesapeake Bay Crisis
The Chesapeake Watershed is a large body of water that is a vital source of food
and a healthy environment for the six states that it runs through: Maryland, Virginia,
West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, and Delaware. This watershed affects a large
portion of the United States because the watershed spreads out into other bodies of water,
such as rivers. The pollution of this watershed can be detrimental to the population of the
United States. Various sources add nutrients and pollution to the Chesapeake that are
harmful to the watershed and could ultimately destroy it if it keeps going unchanged.
Although pollution of the Chesapeake has been occurring for a long time, larger volumes
of pollution have been added as human development has progressed further.
There are many ways that the pollution of the Chesapeake occurs. The most
prevalent forms of pollution in the Chesapeake are from agricultural sources and
stormwater runoff. According to the EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, “Studies
completed in the 1970s documented that increases in agricultural development,
population growth, and sewage treatment discharges were causing the Bay to become
enriched.” When nitrogen and phosphorous enter an aquatic community, the promotion
of the growth of algae occurs. The overgrowth of algae leads to turbidity of water, which
makes it hard for sunlight to penetrate. As stated by the Agricultural Research Journal,
“Agriculture is another major factor in the bay’s health. Poultry production on the Eastern
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Shore is an economic mainstay, but nutrient-rich runoff from poultry litter flows into the
creeks and drainage ditches that feed the bay. The runoff prompts growth of algae and
other plats, and when the vegetation dies, its decomposition robs those waters of oxygen
essential to other aquatic life.” (Shannon et al. 2) According to the Chesapeake Bay
Program, nutrients block sunlight which are important for organisms such as bay grasses
to grow. Also excess nutrients deplete oxygen levels which organisms such as crabs and
oysters need to survive. Agriculture is one of the most significant sources of pollution
that enters the Chesapeake Bay. The Chesapeake Bay Program stated that, “Agriculture is
the single largest source of nutrient and sediment pollution entering the Chesapeake Bay.
According to 2012 estimates from the Bay Program, agriculture contributes to 42 percent
of the nitrogen, 58 percent of the phosphorous, and 58 percent of the sediment entering
the bay.” Sediment can also lead to turbidity in water and can ruin organism
communities that lie on the bottom of rivers and larger bodies of water. Another study
was performed by scientists of the Agricultural Research Service in which they sampled
water on the Choptank River, which is part of the watershed. They sampled the water
every two months for three years and discovered that nitrate levels were far too high and
could cause algal blooms and fish kills. They also discovered that the pollution was
highest at the headwaters where agricultural practices were most common. (Comis 10)
While agriculture is a huge contributor to the pollution in the Chesapeake, stormwater is
also a big factor as well. Stormwater is occurs when there is precipitation. Anything that
is picked up by the precipitation, such as sediment, oils, and chemical contaminants, are
considered stormwater. According to the Chesapeake Bay Program, 17 percent of
phosphorous, 11 percent of nitrogen, and 9 percent of sediment come from stormwater
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runoff. Stormwater pollution also increases as human development increases due to more
impervious surfaces being built, such as buildings and parking lots. In a letter from the
Maryland Department of the Environment, the department states, “Not only does
stormwater runoff contain nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment, it also washes oil largest
source of nitrogen. Not only does stormwater runoff contain nitrogen, phosphorous and
sediment, it also washes oil products, heavy metals and trash into Bay tributaries.” (1)
Some other factors that are very important in determining the quality of the
Chesapeake Bay are affected by human activities. Climate change from global warming
is one overwhelming factor that is harming the environment of the Chesapeake. When
water warms up, there is less oxygen available for aquatic life. Also with the increased
temperature, there can bring more precipitation, which leads to more runoff and nutrient
pollution in the Bay. The Chesapeake Bay Program states, “Precipitation, particularly in
the winter and spring, could increase as the climate changes. Wetter conditions often
cause more nutrients and sediment to flow into the Bay, which could further diminish
water quality and fuel the growth of more algae blooms.” Along with global warming is
air pollution from combustion of fossil fuels and every day activities by humans, such as
driving. Air pollution doesn’t just affect the air that we breathe, it also affects the quality
of any body of water that isn’t regulated. According to the Chesapeake Bay Program,
pollution in the air usually attaches to some form of precipitation and ends up in our
waterways. Nitrogen is the most common pollutant that can enter waterways through air
pollution. The addition of nitrogen to a body of water can be detrimental to the quality of
the Chesapeake with the addition of all of the other sources of nitrogen, phosphorous, and
sediment flowing into the Bay. Most increases in climate change and air pollution that
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affect the Chesapeake Bay can be traced back to population growth and human
development along the Bay watershed. The Chesapeake Bay Program states, “Each
person that lives in this region affects the Chesapeake Bay: we consume natural
resources; we pollute the air, land, and water; and we alter the landscape to fit our needs.
The health of our waterways, therefore, is directly tied to population growth.” The
Chesapeake Bay Program also offered a statistic that says that from 1985 to 2012 the
population of the Chesapeake Bay watershed has increased by 30% and has doubled
since 1950. Human development goes hand in hand with the population growth, because
in order to accommodate the needs of the increasing human population, we have been
creating more and more impervious surfaces, which leads to more runoff into the bay.
Overfishing is also another problem that is arising in the Chesapeake Bay area.
Overfishing effects organisms such as fish, oysters, crabs, and many others. All of these
organisms serve a vital purpose in the Chesapeake Bay community and if they are
overfished, the community will suffer. Oysters are one of the most affected organisms
who are diminishing due not only to overfishing, but to pollution as well. Oysters serve a
vital role in the community by taking in large volumes of water through their gills and
filtering out unwanted particles. According to the Chesapeake Bay Program, “The Bay’s
oyster population has severely declined over the past century due to over-harvesting,
which removed huge volumes of oysters. Over-harvesting also led to the demise of the
Bay’s healthy oyster reefs, which were scraped away by dredging.” According to
research in the Marine Ecology Progress Series, the population of oysters is 0.3% of what
it once was in the 1800s due to pollution and habitat loss. (Solomons) The Journal of Soil
and Water Conservation states, “The Chesapeake Bay is the largest and most productive
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Testuary in North America. The Bay produces half of the blue crabs and one quarter of
the oysters harvested in the U.S.” (Perkinson 87)
The Chesapeake Bay is a very important watershed to the United States and
through human actions it is being destroyed. Nitrogen, phosphorous, and various
sediments are the major pollutants, but they are only part of what is leading to the
destruction of this essential watershed. Agriculture and human development are leading
to the destruction of the Bay and the aquatic life that thrives there. If the issue goes
untreated, then the United States will lose a very important source of food and water and
could cause a huge economic downturn. Not only will the six states that the watershed is
located in be affected, but all of the United States and North America will suffer since the
Bay provides a large supply of blue crabs and oysters to the population.
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Works Cited
Chesapeake Bay Program. Chesapeake Bay Program. 2013. Web. 10 Nov. 2013.
Comis, Don. “ARS Chesapeake Bay Research Intensifies.” Agricultural Research. 58.7
(2010): 10. Academic OneFile. Web. 10 Nov. 2013.
Environmental Protection Agency. “Chesapeake Bay.” The Great Waters Program. EPA,
22 July 2011. Web. 10 Nov. 2013.
Perkinson, Russ. “Evolution of Nutrient Management in the Chesapeake Bay Region.”
Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 49.2 (1994): 87. Academic OneFile.
Web. 18 Oct. 2013.
Shannon, Mike, Matt Smith, Mark Walbridge, and Charles Walthall. “Saving the Bay:
It’s One of the Things ARS Does Best.” Agricultural Research 58.7 (2010): 2.
Academic OneFile. Web. 18 Oct. 2013.
Solomons. “Chesapeake Oyster Population Less Than One Percent of Historic Levels Overfishing, Disease, and Habitat Loss Have Led to Continued Declines in
Maryland’s Portion of the Bay.” University of Maryland Center for
Environmental Science. University of Maryland Center for Environmental
Science, n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2013.
United States. Dept. of the Environment. “National Pollution Discharge Elimination
System, Tentative Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System Discharge Permit for
Prince George’s County, 11-DP-3314.” Chesapeake Bay Foundation. 27 June
2013. Web. 10 Nov. 2013.
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