CHESAPEAKE BAY STATE, USA — Good news for the Chesapeake Bay: it’s earned a C+ rating on it's most recent health report card -- the best it's been in two decades.
The 2023/2024 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Report Card released Tuesday evaluates the body of water's health across seven bay indicators and 12 watershed indicators. The overall health score was rated a 55%, a 4% increase from 2022 data.
"Dissolved oxygen, total phosphorus, total nitrogen, and aquatic grasses scores all have significantly improving trends," the report found.
While the C+ rating was the highest since 2002, experts say more still needs to be done to reduce pollution. Chlorophyll a and water clarity, specifically, have been on a downward trend.
Chesapeake Bay Foundation Vice President for Environmental and Restoration Alison Prost says far too much pollution is still entering the Bay.
She issued the following statement in response to the Bay's latest report card:
“Chesapeake Bay cleanup has made some tremendous progress, which can be traced back to the dedicated state, federal, and local partnership formed across the watershed. But there’s still a lot of work to be done. Restoration efforts will not meet goals to reduce pollution by the 2025 deadline. This puts us at a critical moment for the Bay movement. We’ll be unable to tackle the significant challenges ahead unless governors across the Chesapeake Bay watershed publicly recommit to continue working together for a healthy Bay. Updating the Chesapeake Bay Agreement by the end of 2025 represents a critical opportunity for the partnership to set the stage for success."
Prost explains that preventing polluted runoff from getting in the waterways will require collaboration between states and municipalities.
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