Photo by Steve Adams on Unsplash
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the nation and the third largest in the world.
Three Maryland agencies bear particular responsibility for Bay matters. The Department of Agriculture directs the Office of Resource Conservation which oversees Chesapeake Bay Agricultural Programs. The Department of the Environment works on behalf of the Bay through its Water and Science Administration. The Department of Natural Resources supports the work of the Critical Area Commission for the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays (formerly Chesapeake Bay Critical Area Commission) and oversees Aquatic Resources.
The rivers, creeks, streams, and smaller bays which flow into the Chesapeake Bay, the land surrounding them, and the Bay itself make up the Chesapeake Bay watershed. About 51 billion gallons of fresh water empty into the Chesapeake Bay daily from the 150 major rivers and over 100,000 tributaries. Three main tributaries flow into the Bay, and contribute 80% of the Bay's fresh water. The largest of these is the Susquehanna River, followed by the Potomac River, and Virginia's James River. The watershed runs about 524 miles, from New York to Virginia, while the area itself totals some 64,000 square miles in parts of six states: Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New York, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia. Maryland, Delaware, and Pennsylvania work together on the Bay's behalf through the interstate Chesapeake Bay Commission.
Over the last two decades, Maryland has raised and deployed more than $2 billion to upgrade 67 major wastewater treatment plants throughout the state. We have prevented more than 8.5 million pounds of nitrogen from reaching our waterways each year, and upgraded more than 12,500 septic systems. We have also connected more than 1,300 homes to public sewer. But there is more to do.
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