The Bay is going downhill by every measure, from loss of oysters to loss of clear water to loss of underwater grasses.So the giant estuary that for centuries provided sealife in abundance to humans has been snuffed out in the past few decades--in my memory--by suburban development and heedless waste disposal.
Most of the tributaries are no longer swimmable because of too many E. Coli from untreated waste of humans and farm animals.
The Bay itself gets too much nitrogen and phosphorus (known collectively as "nutrients") and sediments from these sources and others (air pollution from cars and trucks, deposited on pavement along with oil other nasty things). In total they cause the development of algae blooms and other conditions, which in total create anoxic (oxygenless) conditions. Huge anoxic "dead zones" in the deeper waters of the Bay, suffocating fish and crabs and other life.
The combined lobbies of suburban developers, corn farmers and food processors like Purdue and Smithfield are at work in Richmond and Annapolis and other state capitals in the watershed to weaken legislation to clean up the waters.
If the environment had such a well funded lobby, it would make a serious difference..
One thing we would do is impose sediment and nutrient budgets on the waterways, as they do in Seattle and elsewhere, and as called for in the Chesapeake Bay Program (a partnership of localities , states and the US EPA intended to clean up the Bay. ).
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