C+ Grade Assigned To Chesapeake Bay And Watershed Due To Slightly Improving Conditions

MARYLAND — The Chesapeake Bay and watershed was assigned an overall grade of C+ on its latest report card, which was released Monday by the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. The report noted that the bay and watershed's overall condition is "slightly improving."

The bay's health score increased slightly from 45 to 50 last year, earning a grade of C. The bay's overall health is a reflection of conditions across its six-state watershed, which includes Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia and the District of Columbia.

"This year's report card is the first to include a range of economic, ecological and societal factors to help assess progress in improving this vast human and natural system that is a major component of the quality of life for people in the region," Dr. Peter Goodwin, president of UMCES, said in a news release.

PDF: 2021 Chesapeake Bay and Watershed Report Card

"This year's report card is the first to include a range of economic, ecological and societal factors to help assess progress in improving this vast human and natural system that is a major component of the quality of life for people in the region," Goodwin said in the release.

Seven reporting regions had improved grades due to better water quality, aquatic grasses and benthic community. Both nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations continue to improve and the aquatic grass coverage is improving as well, but water clarity and chlorophyll continue to degrade, the report indicated.

The highest scoring region was once again the Lower Bay at 65 percent. The lowest scoring regions were the Patapsco and Back Rivers and the Patuxent River, both at 23 percent. Problems with the Baltimore wastewater treatment plants (Patapsco Wastewater Treatment Plant and Back River Wastewater Treatment Plant) have been identified and state of Maryland oversight has been initiated.

Recent major investments in upgrades of these wastewater treatment plants, combined with better operational oversight, should lead to improved water quality and improved report card scores for the Patapsco and Back River reporting region, the report card noted.

Long-term trends still show significant improvements in the James River, Elizabeth River, Patapsco and Back Rivers, and Upper Western Shore. The bad news, according to the report, is that the Upper Eastern Shore score has begun a slightly declining trend, the first time a declining trend has been observed in any reporting regions since 2014.

Building on social indicators that were added in 2021, new economic indicators were used to evaluate the health of local economies in the region. These include median household income, jobs growth, income inequality and housing affordability.

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