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Recent moves to address
the poor state of health of the Chesapeake Bay watershed have led to increased attention to the problem. Unfortunately, this has led some groups to fear renewed efforts to clean up the bay and to seek to oppose efforts to do so.
The Chesapeake Bay watershed includes an estimated 17 million people that all must do their part to reverse the negative impacts that are responsible for pollution in the bay. It is unfair to call on farmers to do more than their fair share. That said, given that much of the pollution in the bay comes from farms, more must be done on farms to minimize their negative impact on water quality. More must also be done by developers, municipalities, and individuals as well. An examination of the sources of pollution can inform decisions about what should be done.
So just where does the pollution in the bay come from? Data indicates that agriculture is in aggregate the greatest source. Sources of phosphorous in the bay are as follows: agricultural chemical fertilizer and manure 45 percent, urban and suburban runoff 31 percent, municipal and industrial wastewater 21 percent and natural sources 3 percent.
Sources of nitrogen are: agricultural manure chemical fertilizer and atmospheric deposition 43 percent, atmospheric deposition-mobile, utilities and industry 20 percent, municipal and industrial wastewater 20 percent, developed lands 11 percent, septic systems 5 percent, and natural deposition 1 percent. Some 60 percent of sedimentation is from agriculture while natural sources and urban/suburban runoff account for 21 percent and 19 percent respectively.
76.7%