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Pennsylvania
Chesapeake Bay Education Office
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Keystone
in the Cleanup
THE PENNSYLVANIA CHESAPEAKE BAY PROGRAM We
All Live Downstream
The Chesapeake Bay is our
nation's largest and most productive estuary. The Bay provides recreational and
commercial opportunities for humans and is "home" for many animals. Over
recent years, the Bay has become a "victim" of pollution. Many Pennsylvania
land use practices affect water quality in the Chesapeake Bay. The decline of
the Bay has impacted not only the wildlife found living in and around its waters,
but also humans who rely on the Bay as a source of income. How can the
actions of Pennsylvanians affect the Chesapeake Bay? The Chesapeake
Bay Basin is made up of thousands of miles of rivers and streams that supply
freshwater to the Chesapeake. - The Chesapeake Bay Basin stretches from
upstate New York to the Tidewater Region of Virginia. The drainage area covers
64,000 square miles or 41,000,000 acres.
- Pennsylvania makes up over
one-third of the entire Chesapeake Bay Basin, more than any other state.
- About half of Pennsylvania (52%) lies within the Chesapeake Bay Basin.
- Within Pennsylvania's portion of the Chesapeake Bay Basin, the Susquehanna
River drains 92% of the watershed and the Potomac River drains another 7%. The
remaining 1% of the watershed drains from the Elk Creek and Northeast River in
Chester County, and Deer Creek and Gunpowder River in York County.
- Three
million people, or about one-quarter of the entire Chesapeake Bay Basin population,
lives in Pennsylvania.
The Susquehanna River flows 440
miles from New York through Pennsylvania and Maryland and into the Chesapeake
Bay. Most of the river lies in Pennsylvania. - The Susquehanna River
has an average flow of 19 million gallons of water per minute, the highest average
flow of any river in the eastern United States.
- The Susquehanna
River supplies 50% of the freshwater entering the Bay. Pennsylvania's portion
of the Potomac River contributes an additional 2% to the Bay's freshwater supply.
- In the upper portion of the Chesapeake, as much as 90% of the freshwater
comes from the Susquehanna River
- Although the average depth of the
Chesapeake is only 30 feet, a channel over 180 feet deep runs through its center.
The channel is the original Susquehanna River bed, dating back to the Ice Age.
Nutrient pollution -- caused by excessive amounts of nitrogen
and phosphorus -- impacts local water quality and the Chesapeake Bay.
- Excess nutrients cause an overgrowth of algae, called algae blooms. Algae
blooms deplete oxygen supplies and block sunlight needed by aquatic plants and
animals.
- Pennsylvania contributes an estimate 36 percent of the
nitrogen and 25 percent of the phosphorus entering the Bay.
- In the
upper portion of the Bay, about 3/4 of the nitrogen and 1/2 of the phosphorus
comes from Pennsylvania
- Animal manures and commercial fertilizers
can pollute local waterways if applied in excess of crop needs. Over half of the
nitrogen and the phosphorus entering the Susquehanna River comes from agricultural
runoff. Improper fertilization of residential lawns and gardens, malfunctioning
septic systems, industrial activities, and air deposition of nitrogen and phosphorus
can also affect water quality.
The Pennsylvania Chesapeake Bay
Program was launched in 1984 in response to an Environmental Protection Agency
study that reported the health of the Bay is declining. The Pennsylvania Bay Program
is supported by state and federal funds. The Program is administered by the Department
of Environmental Protection's Bureau of Water Quality Protection and is implemented
at the local level by county conservation districts. In 1987 Pennsylvania
furthered its commitment to protect and restore the Chesapeake Bay and joined
the governors of Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia in the signing
of the Chesapeake Bay Agreement. The Agreement set a goal of reducing nutrient
loads entering the Bay by 40 percent by the year 2000. The Pennsylvania
Chesapeake Bay Program is: - A cooperative project between state,
federal, and local agencies and organizations.
- A voluntary effort of Basin
landowners to help reduce agricultural runoff.
- A nonpoint source pollution
control program within Pennsylvania's portion of the Bay watershed.
- A
technical and financial assistance program for farmers who are interested in installing
prescribed management practices to reduce water pollution.
- An educational
outreach effort teaching farmers, students homeowners, local governments, and
private industries about Pennsylvania's connection to the Chesapeake Bay.
About
half of the PA Bay Program funds are devoted to cost-sharing Best Management Practices
(BMP's) that reduce agricultural pollution. Pennsylvania's Bay Program also offers
grants for demonstration projects and education al activities that show how Pennsylvanians
can improve local water quality and protect downstream areas including the Chesapeake
Bay. For further information about the Pennsylvania Chesapeake Bay Program,
contact the PA Chesapeake Bay Education Office, 25 North Front Street, Harrisburg,
PA 17101 (717-238-7223) or the DEP World Wide Web site at http://www.dep.state.pa.us For
up-to-date information about Chesapeake Bay cleanup efforts in Virginia, Maryland
and the District of Columbia, contact the Chesapeake Bay Regional Information
Service (CRIS) at 1-800-662-CRIS. The regional Chesapeake Bay Program Website
is located at http://www.epa.gov/region03/chesapeake/.
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