Critical moments to improve Chesapeake water quality
A study by Pennsylvania State University researchers concluded that the vast majority of nutrients and sediment washed into streams flowing into the Chesapeake Bay are picked up by deluges from severe storms that occur on relatively few days of the year. The researchers say this offers clues for cleaning up the impaired estuary.
A small percentage of locations and events contribute to most total annual pollution loads. This shows the importance of concentrating agricultural pollution mitigation efforts on “hot moments” not just “hot spots” across impaired watersheds to achieve water-quality-restoration goals.
The findings led researchers to propose a critical shift in approaches to meeting load-reduction goals from “everything, everywhere, all the time” to finding the right solutions in the right places that work at the right time. This approach allows watershed planners and managers to develop low- and high-flow targets for nutrient and sediment loads specific to each watershed in the bay’s 64,000-square-mile basin.
Project supported by Hatch Multistate and Hatch regular capacity funds.
