Legum’s New Line

The EPA released their yearly report on the health of the Chesapeake Bay and it’s not pretty. The bottom line of the report, which some advocates still content is overly optimistic, is that the Bay is very unhealthy and not getting any better. From the report:

The Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries are unhealthy primarily because of pollution from excessnitrogen, phosphorus and sediment entering the water. The main sources of these pollutants are agriculture, urban and suburban runoff, wastewater, and airborne contaminants.

Despite small successes in certain parts of the ecosystem and specific geographic areas, the overall health of the Chesapeake Bay did not improve in 2008. The Bay continues to have poor water quality, degraded habitats and low populations of many species of fish and shellfish. Based on these three areas, the overall health averaged 38 percent, with 100 percent representing a fully restored ecosystem.

In terms of water quality, the primary measurement of the Bay’s health, things are even worse:

Water quality is the most important measure of the Chesapeake Bay’s health. In 2008, water quality was again very poor, meeting only 21 percent of the goals, the same as 2007. Pollution led to murky water and algae blooms, which blocked sunlight from reaching bay grasses and created low levels of oxygen for aquatic life. Chemical contaminants impaired more water in 2008, resulting in a 6 percent decrease in that goal area.

In light of the fact that the 25 year effort to save the Bay is failing, what are we doing to change our approach? Clearly, merely continuing or tweaking the current programs, many of which rely on voluntary compliance, will not restore the Bay.

The entire report is available here and is essential reading for anyone concerned about the health of the Bay.

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