The Chesapeake Bay Foundation released its 2022 State of the Bay report last week, giving the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed a grade of D+, unchanged from 2020, when the previous biennial report was issued.
Virginia is showing “some promising signs of cleaner waterways,” said the release, “but challenges remain, from harmful algal blooms to concerns over the blue crab population.”
Among the challenges to water quality issued in the report are agricultural pollution; new development; climate change; and increasing polluted runoff in urban and suburban areas, with inconsistent enforcement by government agencies.
Despite these challenges, said the report, “the federal/state Chesapeake Clean Water Blueprint, based on the world’s best science, remains the most promising plan for restoring local rivers, streams, and the Chesapeake Bay. What has been lacking is implementation.”
The report
CBF’s State of the Bay report, which was established in 1998, consists of 13 indicators based on data c...