Virginia Watersheds and the Chesapeake Bay

Picture a watershed as a bathtub with a drain. Any drop of water that falls within the bathtub will find its way down that one drain. The Chesapeake Bay is the drain for a very large watershed that includes 64,000 square miles, 6 states, the District of Columbia, and more than 17.5 million people. Would you bathe in a tub used by all those people? It is important to remember that everyone who lives in this watershed has an effect on the health of the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem, no matter how far away from the bay they live. Scientists are still searching for ways to keep watersheds clean.

The Chesapeake Bay is given a report card each year. In order to produce this report, scientists study many indicators, like dissolved oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, water clarity, and amount of chlorophyll. The living communities of the Bay are also studied. The benthic life, aquatic grasses, blue crab populations, bay anchovy populations, and striped bass populations are all monitored. In 2013, the Chesapeake Bay scored a 45%, or a C, in overall health. Visit University of Maryland's Center for Environmental Science to explore the Chesapeake Bay's report card from 2013. View each of the different aspects on the interactive map. This map will help you understand where changes need to be made in order to keep this waterway healthy.