The six states in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, and Washington, D.C., continue to chip away at pollution entering the bay.
The Chesapeake Bay Program announced last Thursday that the seven jurisdictions that make up the Chesapeake Bay watershed—Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia—continue to make progress in reducing the amount of nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment pollution that is flowing into the Chesapeake Bay.
Under the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (Bay TMDL), each jurisdiction strives to have 100 percent of practices in place by 2025 that will reduce nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment pollution, allowing the Chesapeake Bay to achieve water quality standards.
Overall nitrogen entering the bay decreased 17 percent from 297.8 million pounds in 2009 to 247.6 million pounds in 2023, meeting 57 percent of the goal to reduce nitrogen by 2025.
Overall phosphorus entering the bay decreased 17 percent from 17.2 million p...