Chesapeake Bay Foundation reports modest improvement in Bay health

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation has reported a modest improvement in Chesapeake Bay health since 2014. The nonprofit gave the estuary a grade of “C-” in its biennial State of the Bay report, noting reductions in water pollution and increased abundance of blue crabs, oysters and other fisheries.

The score of 34 on a one-to-100 scale marks an improvement of two points from the 2014 report—which gave the Bay a “D+” grade—but remains well short of the Foundation’s goal of 70, representing an “A+” or a “saved Bay.”

According to the report, nine of the 13 indicators of Bay health showed signs of recovery, including dissolved oxygen, water clarity, underwater grass abundance and populations of blue crabs, striped bass, oysters and shad. Of those indicators, blue crabs showed the greatest improvement, with the number of adult crabs having roughly tripled since 2014. Three of the indicators—toxic contaminants, wetlands and resource lands—showed no change from the previous report, and one indicator, forest buffers, declined.

The report attributed improvements in water quality in part to continued implementation of the “Clean Water Blueprint,” or Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load—a comprehensive plan to reduce pollution going to the Bay and its rivers and streams.

The Chesapeake Bay Program will publish Bay Barometer, its annual snapshot of watershed-wide health and restoration, later this month. The Bay Program is a voluntary partnership that includes the six watershed states of Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia; the District of Columbia; the Chesapeake Bay Commission; and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency representing the federal government.

Read the 2016 State of the Bay report.