Success on the Chesapeake Bay

Celebrating 20 years of Maryland's Bay Restoration Fund

 

Chesapeake Bay

The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States; its 64,000 square mile watershed encompasses nearly the entire state of Maryland and portions of five other states and Washington D.C.  

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Estuary (es·tu·ar·y): an area where a freshwater river or stream meets the ocean.

The Chesapeake Bay estuary provides important ecological functions that help bolster the local economy. By the late 1970s, water quality in the Bay began to show noticeable signs of degradation.

A major reason for the declining water quality was determined to be an over-enrichment of nutrients.

Nutrient pollution is caused by excess nitrogen and phosphorus in the water. While some nutrients are necessary, too much nitrogen and phosphorus in water bodies can lead to several problems, including excess algal growth, which can lead to additional water quality issues such as low dissolved oxygen and even fish kills.

How Nutrients Enter the Bay

Wastewater: Wastewater contains nitrogen and phosphorus from human waste, food, and certain soaps and detergents. While wastewater treatment plants are able to remove some nitrogen and phosphorus before discharging water, the discharge can still be a source of these nutrients in local waterbodies such as the Bay.

Stormwater runoff flowing across pavement

Stormwater runoff: Stormwater runoff flows occur after precipitation and carry nutrients and other pollutants into nearby waterways. When parking lots, paved roads and other impervious surfaces are present, stormwater flows directly through storm drains into local waterbodies.

Agriculture: Farmers may apply nutrients to their fields in the form of fertilizers and animal manure. These nutrients can be washed from fields into waterways during wet weather. Over time, they can also leach through the soil and into groundwater.

Harmful algal bloom.

Eutrophication (eu·troph·i·ca·tion) occurs when an aquatic environment becomes enriched with nutrients increasing the amount of plant and algae growth. As algae die and decompose, oxygen is depleted from the water, which can result in dead zones where organisms no longer have enough oxygen to survive.  

Bay Restoration Fund

To address declining water quality, state officials realized that cleanup efforts were not enough to drive meaningful restoration to the Bay and a larger effort would instead be necessary. 

A Total Maximum Daily Load, or TMDL, defines the maximum amount of a pollutant that a waterbody can receive while still meeting water quality standards. TMDLs are typically developed by states and approved by the EPA and are an important tool to help meet the goals of the Clean Water Act. 

Bay Restoration Fund Milestones

Early 2000s

The water quality in the Bay continues to show signs of degradation, despite previous restoration efforts.

2004

Senate Bill 320, also known as the Bay Restoration Fund (BRF), was passed by the Maryland General Assembly. The BRF collected a monthly fee from each Maryland home to create a dedicated fund for implementing nitrogen reduction strategies.

2010

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, in collaboration with the Chesapeake Bay Program partnership including Maryland Department of the Environment, established TMDLs for the Bay.

2024

The BRF reaches a 20-year milestone since its creation.

2025

By this year, Maryland aims to achieve its portion of the 2025 Chesapeake Bay restoration targets by reducing the amount of nitrogen released into the Bay.

Wastewater Treatment Plants

The restoration funding has supported upgrades to all 67 major wastewater treatment plants that discharge into Maryland's portion of the Bay watershed, as well as additional updates to minor plants in the state. These upgrades are responsible for reducing approximately 7.5 million pounds of nitrogen to the Bay per year. 

Significant Wastewater Treatment Plants in Maryland

Septic Systems

In total, $233 million of the BRF has gone towards upgrading septic systems in Maryland. In 2022 alone, more than 910 failing septic systems were upgraded with the best available technology for nutrient removal, many of which were located in designated critical areas. In that same year, 137 homes that were previously using septic systems have been connected to public sewers that are capable of higher levels of nitrogen reduction. 

The On-site BRF Program funds "Best Available Technology" (BAT) septic system units, public sewer connections, holding tanks, and low income drainfields. Most of the money is spent correcting failing septic systems, and the methods above are often used in fixing this problem. Currently, around 17,000 projects are funded with On-site BRF money.

Cover Crops

Cover crops use excess nutrients in the soil from fertilizer and help farmers prevent erosion and improve the quality of their soil. In 2022, more than 424,616 acres of cover crops were planted in Maryland using the BRF, helping to remove an estimated 3 million pounds of nitrogen and an additional 3,400 pounds of phosphorus.

Maryland Conservation Spotlight: Cover Crops

How the Bay has Improved

"In the last 20 years, there has been a lot more concern [for the health of the Chesapeake Bay]. More people are paying attention and working to do the best we can for the Bay.”

Cheryl Lewis, town manager of Oxford, Maryland

Since the implementation of the BRF, the water quality of the Chesapeake Bay has shown significant signs of improvement. More than $1.9 billion has been collected since the program began, which has been used to prevent an estimated 8.5 million pounds of nitrogen from entering the Bay each year. 

Nitrogen in annual wastewater effluent load discharged to the Chesapeake Bay

Although MDE's compliance inspections at Maryland's two largest WWTP's uncovered significant permit violations in 2021, after numerous corrective actions, recent inspections confirm that the plants are again meeting nutrient limits.

Figure showing daily and annual amounts of hypoxia in the Chesapeake Bay.

Thanks to the BRF and other restoration efforts, the population of oysters, the health of underwater grasses, and the health of streams in the watershed can continue to improve.

Be Part of the Solution

Hear from experts involved with the Bay Restoration Fund on the Clean Water Pod podcast.  Listen here! 

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Take Action to Help the Bay!

Create a stream buffer– Help prevent pollution from entering local waterways and the Bay by planting native trees, shrubs, and grasses next to streams and rivers.

Service your septic system – Septic systems should be inspected yearly to ensure proper functioning. Failing systems can leak into the groundwater and eventually end up in the Bay. 

Use less fertilizer – Limit the amount of fertilizer used on your lawn and garden, as these nutrients can make their way to the Bay. 

Collect rainwater – Build a rain garden or install a rain barrel to keep rainwater where it lands. Stormwater carries pollutants such as lawn chemicals from yards into the Bay.

Scoop the poop – Make your neighbors happy and keep harmful nitrogen out of the Bay by always cleaning up after your pet. 

Resources

Photo Credits

This StoryMap has been funded wholly or in part by the United States Environmental Protection Agency under assistance agreement 84039101 to  NEIWPCC . The contents of this document do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Environmental Protection Agency, nor does the EPA endorse trade names or recommend the use of commercial products mentioned in this document.

The On-site BRF Program funds "Best Available Technology" (BAT) septic system units, public sewer connections, holding tanks, and low income drainfields. Most of the money is spent correcting failing septic systems, and the methods above are often used in fixing this problem. Currently, around 17,000 projects are funded with On-site BRF money.

Nitrogen in annual wastewater effluent load discharged to the Chesapeake Bay

Figure showing daily and annual amounts of hypoxia in the Chesapeake Bay.