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Chesapeake Bay Restoration

Restoring A Natural Treasure

CB Ariel

What

The Chesapeake Bay watershed is one North America's great treasures.  It encompasses 64,000 sq. miles and provides clean drinking water and recreational opportunities for 17 million people.  It is home to some of our mightiest rivers including the Shenandoah, Potomac, Susquehanna and James. Unfortunately, the Bay is facing unprecedented levels of pollution which threaten the very reasons we love this watershed.  West Virginia Rivers Coalition has joined forces with regional and national organizations to help bring health back to the Chesapeake Bay region.

Where
map

The Chesapeake Bay watershed covers six states and Washington DC. The watershed includes everything within the red outline on the map above.  That means all of the streams, lakes, rivers and ground water, as well as all the farms, cities, mountains and forest land within the outline area part of the watershed. Although only a small portion of West Virginia is within the watershed, almost 12% of West Virginia's population depends on the health of the Bay for clean drinking water.  This percentage is increasing each year due to the fact that the Eastern Panhandle is the fastest growing region in West Virginia.  With more and more people moving into the Panhandle each year safe, clean drinking water is essential to the growth of our state.  

Why

Years of pollution from agricultural run-off, industrial run-off, storm water and sewage system failures, outdated infrastructure and a booming population have caused the Chesapeake Bay suffer from extreme levels of pollution. This pollution is introduced into the Bay by all of the streams, rivers and wetlands that feed into the Chesapeake Bay. In order to fix this pollution problem we must first fix the problems in our own communities. Due to the scope of the pollution federal government, state government, local government, civic organizations, environmental organizations and concerned citizens must all work together to help bring the Bay back. When the Chesapeake Bay is healthy we are all healthy.

How

The Chesapeake Bay has been put on “pollution diet”.  High levels of nitrogen and phosphorus (known as nutrients) and sediment (dirt) have degraded the health of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. During the last few years the Environmental Protection Agency or the EPA began working with each state within the Chesapeake Bay watershed to figure out a way to restore health to the region.  In order to tackle this difficult task the EPA announced a watershed wide Total Daily Maximum Load or TMDL. The TMDL limits the amount of nutrients and sediment entering the Chesapeake Bay, essentially putting it on a "pollution diet.  Limiting the amount of pollution entering the Bay will allow the watershed to begin the healing process and return to a healthier state.  

Each state within the watershed has developed a Watershed Implementation Plan (WIP). The state uses the WIP to guide them towards their environmental goals. The Watershed Implementation Plan is a multiphase program with identifies problems within the watershed and how to address them. Stakeholders from each state are engaged in the process. Ultimately, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is in charge of approving the WIP. To learn more about this process and West Virginia’s WIP please visit the West Virginia Conservation Agency’s Chesapeake Bay Program website. 

The Choose Clean Water Coalition


Choose Clean Water Map

In order to help bring the Chesapeake Bay watershed back to health West Virginia Rivers Coalition has joined the Choose Clean Water Coalition. As a member of the steering commity we are dedicated to finding solutions to help aid in the restoration of the Chesapeake Bay. The Choose Clean Water Coalition is a broad group of over 200 environmental and socially concerned organization with a shared goal of restoring the Chesapeake Bay to a healthier state.

The mission of the Choose Clean Water Coalition is: To serve as a strong, united, effective advocate for restoring the thousands of streams and rivers flowing to the Chesapeake Bay by coordinating policy, message, action and accountability for clean-up success at the federal, state and local levels.

Take Action

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Additional Resources

For more information on these topics and organizations working on this issure please follow this link