“Chesapeake Bay Pollution”

11/14/18

By: Elena Maddox

Manoli Cardona

Agustin Cortes

Alejandra Lopez
Pollution in the Chesapeake Bay:

The Chesapeake Bay is home to over 2,700 species. It draws water from over 150 rivers, streams, creaks receiving

roughly 70,000 cubic feet of water every second. That water reflects surrounding land use activities from the District

of Columbia, parts of New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia. A total of about

15 million people reside in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. This means that the Bay must process more land-based

pollution than most bodies of water. According to Submersed Aquatic Vegetation in Chesapeake Bay Sentinel

Species in a Changing World by Robert J. Orth “The Chesapeake Bay is America’s largest sanctuary and one of the

world’s most productive.” J.Orth also states that, “The Chesapeake Bay’s decline was evident as early as the 1950s.

In the late 1970s, state and federal scientists began an extensive study to determine the reasons for the Bay’s decline.

According to the Chesapeake Bay website people had not been concerned with water pollution and have been

ignoring the fact that it is causing danger to the earth’s ecosystem and people’s health.​ ​People started being

informed, that the earth heat levels were rising and the one place we call our home/planet will soon not be there for

future generations.

Defining and analyzing the problems:

So what are the problems?, The three major problems were identified as; excess nutrients from wastewater,

agricultural lands, and developed land; sediment in runoff from farms, construction sites, and eroding lands; possible

elevated levels of toxic chemicals in the water.​ ​According to the Chesapeake Bay website “​Wastewater refers to

liquid waste or sewage from homes, businesses, schools, industrial facilities and other institutions that flows into

rivers, streams and into the Chesapeake Bay. It can also refer to runoff’s from ​stormwater​, ​agriculture​ and other

sources. Essentially, wastewater is all the used water that originates from households—toilets and bathroom fixtures,

kitchens, laundry, lawn and garden irrigation, swimming pools—as well as from industrial, commercial and

agricultural activities and polluted runoff. Depending on the source, some wastewater can contain ​nutrient​ or
sediment​ pollution, or dissolved ​chemical contaminants​.” The Chesapeake Bay region is home to 472 municipal and

industrial wastewater treatment plants, which leads to higher amount of wastewater pollution. It makes it an obstacle

for the restoration of the Chesapeake Bay to happen. Moreover, some of the land is private owned land which

makes it harder to implement the rules and regulations in each piece of land surrounded the Chesapeake Bay,

therefore, “faulty seals and improper connections can receive large amounts of infiltration and inflow during wet

weather.” While this may seem like a small problem it leads to bigger environmental issue due to “large volumes of

sanitary sewer overflows and operational problems at the wastewater treatment facility serving the collection system

in addition sewage overflows can be caused by other problems such as blockages, equipment failure, broken pipes,

or vandalism” (epa.gov).

Second problem is, humans are the main problem for the Bays pollution. They are responsible for the

excess nutrients that enter and hurt the ecosystem of the Chesapeake Bay. According to the the Department of the

Environment in the Maryland website “This nutrient pollution come from fertilizing lawns, gardens, and farms.

Nutrient pollution also come from urban sources, including exhaust automobiles, wastewater, septic systems and

stormwater runoff. These nutrients are overwhelming to the Chesapeake Bay that it has weakened natural filters

and have resulted in a significant loss of wildlife.” The Chesapeake Bay being the largest estuary in the United

States and the third largest in the world, the Bay watershed encompasses the entire District of Columbia, as well as

parts of six states: Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia.” Making a very

vulnerable body of water and to accept an excessive amount of nutrient pollution, as well as, nitrogen and

phosphorus loads to the Chesapeake Bay is a regional water quality concern. Nitrogen and phosphorus have always

been a part of the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem, but have increased to excessive levels over the last few decades. Prior

to substantial human activity in the region, most nitrogen and phosphorus was absorbed or retained by natural forest

and wetland vegetation. However, the activities of over 13.6 million people in the watershed have overwhelmed the

Chesapeake Bay with excess amounts of nutrients. Nitrogen and phosphorus come from a wide range of point and

nonpoint sources, including sewage treatment plants, industrial facilities, agricultural fields, lawns, and the

atmosphere. As forests and wetlands have been replaced by farms, cities, and suburbs to accommodate a growing

population, nitrogen and phosphorus pollution to the Chesapeake Bay have greatly increased. ​Nitrogen and
phosphorus are considered good things because they support the bottom of the food chain. But in recent years the

Chesapeake Bay has been receiving too much of these nutrients. The excess nutrients have created large blooms of

microscopic plants called phytoplankton. The growth of phytoplankton has cut off the supply of light to underwater

grasses. The underwater grasses are essential part of the Bays ecosystem because they provide a habitat for many

species and help filter the water. Pollution has reduced the grasses to only 10% of their historic levels, from 600,000

acres to around 65,000 acres today. Another problem occurs when algae dies and begins to decompose. The process

of decomposition removes dissolved oxygen from the water and turns large section into non habitable area when fish

and or wildlife can thrive from. Moreover, whenever it rains or snow falls on the ground and picks up contaminants

and carry them into streams and rivers that will eventually flow into the Chesapeake Bay. Polluted stormwater

runoff has become an increasing problem because much land around the bay has changed from the natural filters of

forests and wetlands to poorly managed farmland, construction sites, city streets, and suburban communities.

Construction sites and farmland severely erode, sending tons of soil into the water. A well-managed farms sends ten

times the amount of sediment into the Bay as a forest. A construction site can send a thousand times as much

sediment as a forest. Farms are a significant source of nutrient, bacterial and toxic pollution when storm-water runs

off farmland saturated with animal wastes and other fertilizers. One of the largest contributors of farm runoff is the

Eastern Shore s chicken industry, which produces around 400,000 tons of chicken manure. When rain falls on the

roadways in urban and suburban areas, it washes harmful gasoline and oil from the roads into the Bay. In addition,

Industrial facilities, and food production and processing facilities. They discharge nutrient and toxic-laden wastes,

often through pipes, directly into the water. Some facilities carry their wastes off site and spread them across the

land, where they eventually flow into the water. Many point source discharges have made progress in reducing the

amounts of pollution they dump into the water, but far too many nutrients and toxins still enter the Bay. As long as

discharging is permitted to use lakes, oceans and bays as dumping grounds waste and point source pollution will

continue as a problem for the Bay.

Third problem, Toxins, such as the heavy metals mercury, cadmium, copper, lead, zinc; and pesticides,

dioxins, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and many other chemicals

have been identified as a potential threat to the Bay. Toxic substances are poisonous to humans and other living
things and have been known to cause a wide range of negative health effects. There are over 70,000 chemicals

currently in use. Less that 2% of these chemicals have been adequately tested for their impact on human health and

the environment. The testing, monitoring, and controlling of toxic substances is very complex and expensive. As a

result, not enough is known about the kinds and amounts of toxic chemicals entering the Bay or the effects they have

on the living things in the Bayswater. What are the effects of toxins and what kind of danger are we putting on

humans and or wildlife. “According to a diagram from the Maryland Pesticide Network, waterborne pesticides can

go from aquatic animals to wildlife that eats those animals to drinking water that can then enter the breast milk of

pregnant women. They reported that these toxic chemicals found in the Chesapeake Bay have been linked to low

birth weights (Munger et al., 1997) and immune dysfunctions. These findings were also similar to a study done

across the Pacific ocean.” in another study conducted in France, scientists “Tested how the pesticide chlorpyrifos

affected juvenile and adult rats. They used three groups of pregnant rats and gave one group rapeseed oil (control

group) and the second and third group were given dissolved chlorpyrifos once a day. This was given to the pregnant

rats from ‘gestational day 1 until their pups were weaned.’ They then took some of the newborn rats from each

group to euthanize them. They did this to take the diaphragms and test how well the contracted after being given

either the rapeseed or the pesticide. The rest of the pup rats were given either rapeseed oil or the dissolved

chlorpyrifos. They then conducted a series of tests to see the difference in weight, diaphragm contractility, and sleep

apnea. These tests showed that when it came to weight, the control group of rats always weighed more when the

became adults. Both groups that were given the pesticide never weighed more than 250g while the control group got

up to 300g. Diaphragm showed that both tests groups had a much higher twitch tension that the control group

meaning that the muscles of the test groups took much longer to react to stimulation. Finally, apnea was described as

a rat missing at least two breaths. The results of this specific test showed that the test groups had about twice as

many missed breaths in an hour than the control group. “The sleep apnea index, TE and VT were higher in adult

animals exposed. Mercury is part of the water pollution problem, According to Chesapeake Bay Foundation: Saving

a National Treasure reports, “Mercury… is highly toxic chemical, especially to developing nervous system and can

cause IQ deficits in children… mercury increases in concentration as it moves up the food chain and wildlife, fish

and people consume contaminated food... It is mostly floats out of out of the smokestacks of power plants and

factories and is washed up by rain into the chesapeake bay and other waterways… according to the EPA, coal-fired
electricity generators are the largest single source of mercury air emissions in the U.S accounting for more than 40

percent of the pollution. The fisherman animals impact on the chesapeake bay. the report team used peer-reviewed

literature (journal articles and other scientific publications) to describe the potential connections between

contaminants and their health effects on fish and wildlife. The team found that the health of fish continues to be

degraded by: increased infectious diseases and parasites that cause fish kills, feminization (intersex conditions) of

largemouth and smallmouth bass, reduced reproductive success of yellow perch, and tumors in bottom-dwelling

fish. All these effects are likely related to toxic contaminants. In a few locations, contaminants adversely affect the

health of wildlife, primarily birds, as evidenced by: eggshell thinning, death of embryos, and failure of eggs to hatch.

So how are able to solve each and one problem.

Criteria and establishing possible solutions:

Criteria Definition Rank

Effective It is easy to do and yields good 1

results.

Meets time constraints It is capable of being applied within 4

a time frame. How long can it last.
how long is it effective for.

User-Friendly People have a good idea of what it 3

is, people enjoy it and it does not
bother them.

Environmentally friendly It does not have major issues with 2

the environment. And it will not
cause more problems for the
environment than what it has at the
moment of implementing the idea.

Improves water condition Water quality rises and does not 1

decline dramatically.
Brainstorm of solution options:

1. Seabin
● What is a Seabin?

The Seabin is a floating rubbish bin that is located in the water at marinas, docks, yacht clubs, and commercial ports.
The Seabin moves up and down with the range of tide collecting all floating rubbish. Water is sucked in from the
surface and passes through a catch bag inside the Seabin, with a submersible water pump capable of displacing
25.000 LPH (liters per hour),​ plugged directly into 110/220 V outlet​. The water is then pumped back into the marina
leaving litter and debris trapped in the catch bag to be disposed of properly.Info was taken from
(​https://www.seabinproject.com​)

● Does it meet our criteria?

1. Effectiveness: picks up to 1.5 kilograms of floating debris per day depending on weather, that includes
micro plastic debris.
2. Time Constraints: No time constraints. seabin can be kept for months and months with periodic check ups
and monthly removal of debris.
3. User-Friendly: Although it will bother people because it is drawing electricity 24/7 we think people will
like the idea of an automated water cleaner. It is easy to carry out on small boats or dock and it is silent so
neighbors or private landowners won't be disturbed.
4. Environmentally Friendly:Although it is a piece of plastic sitting on the water and is drawing electricity
24/7. It will be cleaning the surface of the water
5. Improves Water Condition: It picks up microplastic debris which improves the health of fish and it will
clean oceans/bay.

2. Educating the public about recycling.

Teaching people about recycling would make a more noticeable change in water pollution. If more people where to
know more about the problem they will doublethink about their choices on buying plastic or notice the difference
between items.
1. Does it meet our criteria?
Effective: it would be effective because people will learn the proper way to recycle. what can and cannot
be recycled.
2. Time Constraints: it may or may not be time consuming since people throw away trash every minutes of
every hour , will take away just a second to throw away recyclables in the proper containers.
3. User-Friendly:yes, it is user friendly since its your own trash that you would be separating into correct bins.
4. Environmentally Friendly: it would be environmentally friendly because there will not be more trash and
debris that will pollute the water.
5. Improvement on water condition: Water quality would be more noticable and future generations would
have the knowledge of not doing the same thing again.

3. Tighter Pollution Regulations

What are tighter pollution regulations?
What we are trying to implement is stricter regulations on farmers and the amount of pollution that can produce and
the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus factories produce. However, looking up at the results people/ government
officials have tried to implement these types of regulation prior to our research but have failed because volunteer
program did not reduce pollution enough.

● Does it meet our criteria?

1. Effective: No, people usually don’t follow regulations that are strictly enforced and one way or another
people will start to act up and fight against it if they are not making enough money. two, it has implemented
before but the results have been so lacking that going with the plan would have not made a difference.
2. Time Constraints: No. It takes time for a regulation or law to pass and to be enforced. The changes need to
happen now instead of waiting for the government to answer to the public.
3. User-Friendly: no it is not user-friendly because people will not adapt properly to the new rules and
regulations for recycling.
4. Environmentally Friendly: Yes, if the regulation where to be passed and enforced then the amount of
pollution going to the bay would decrease and better other problems in the ecosystem.
5. Improves Water Condition: yes, it will improve water conditions because it will not have plastic debris or
any other particles floating in the water.

Improves Water Condition:yes, it will improve water conditions because water will be clean and will keep
ecosystem alive, and also have clean drinking water for people.

Best one solution option selected:

1. Seabin

- As stated in our evaluation seabin would be the one making the greatest effect on changing water

pollution. People around the world have started to implement seabins around their docks and sea water. It

filters and it helps reduce the amount of trash that the ocean/ bay carries around all day. It makes it easy to

use so anyone is able to learn how to use it. It helps to clean up the water pollution. If this is implemented

then not one city or state has the excuse not to follow the rules and regulations for the clean up process.

Conclusion:

In conclusion efforts must be taken by the government and individuals to help reduce the amount of pollution

deposited in the bay. Restrictions need to be made on the amount of pesticides used in the Bay’s watershed. Erosion

must be decreased through more responsible planting, and construction site layout. Air pollution needs to be

combated through the use of technology to make cleaner burning engines, power plants, and factories. Cleanup and

preservation efforts must continue to work hard at restoring the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem. The Chesapeake Bay is
a unique environment that supports a great number of species. Work must continue to prevent the destruction and

pollution of their natural habitat. The marine life of the Bay is essential not only to the health of the Bay ecosystem,

but it is a mainstay of the economy in the surrounding areas. The threat of polluted aquatic life also poses a potential

threat to the humans that consume the seafood from the Bay. If the Bay continues to be polluted the tourist and

seafood industries of Maryland and Virginia could suffer greatly.

Reference:

Bad Water 2009: The Impact on Human Health in the Chesapeake Bay Region

http://www.cbf.org/document-library/cbf-reports/57298_final008c.pdf

Day, C. (2017). Down by the Chesapeake Bay: Cooperative Federalism, Judicial Intervention, and the Boundary

between State Land Use and Federal Environmental Law. ​Energy Law Journal,​ ​38(​ 1), 253–267. Retrieved

from

http://search.ebscohost.com.montgomerycollege.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=12314

4954&site=eds-live&scope=site

https://mde.maryland.gov/programs/Water/TMDL/TMDLImplementation/Pages/pollution-in-the-chesapeake.aspx

https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/nutpollution.html

https://toxics.usgs.gov/highlights/ChesBay_Report.html

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/wastewater-treatment

https://www.epa.gov/npdes/municipal-wastewater
https://www.seabinproject.com

https://www.chesapeakebay.net/documents/2017_Nov_ChesBayWQ_Criteria_Addendum_Final.pdf

http://www.cbf.org/issues/chemical-contamination/

http://www.mdpestnet.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/MPN-2009WhitePaper.pdf

Maeda, P. K., Chanse, V., Rockler, A., Montas, H., Shirmohammadi, A., Wilson, S., & Leisnham, P. T. (2018).

Linking stormwater Best Management Practices to social factors in two suburban watersheds. ​PLoS ONE​,

1–23. https://doi-org.montgomerycollege.idm.oclc.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0202638

McConnell, K. A. (2017). Limits of American Farm Bureau Federation v. EPA and the Clean Water Act’s TMDL

Provision in the Mississippi River Basin.​Ecology Law Quarterly​, ​44​(2), 469–501.

https://doi-org.montgomerycollege.idm.oclc.org/10.15779/Z38M61BP5N

Orth, R. J., W. C. Dennison, J. S. Lefcheck, C. Gurbisz, M. Hannam, J. Keisman, J. B. Landry, K. A. Moore, R. R.

Murphy, C. J. Patrick, J. Testa, D. E. Weller, D. J. Wilcox. 2017. Submersed aquatic vegetation in

Chesapeake Bay: sentinel species in a changing world. Bioscience 67:698-712. doi:10.1093/biosci/bix058

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Acknowledgement Page:

Names Task Assigned Task Completed (1-10) Overall

Contribution

Manoli Intro to topic All 10 Has completed the

paper, powerpoint
and reference list

Elena Established All 10 Has completed

 Criteria paper, powerpoint
and reference list

Agustin Define Problem Criterias 4 He contributed 1

and Solution maybe 2 sources

Alejandra Summarize Topic found information 4 She contributed 1

on problems or 2 sources.