Water experts say the Chesapeake Bay is “Not getting any better”

DELMARVA – WMDT News has been following the water quality of the Chesapeake Bay.

“It’s not getting any better,” said Captain Robert Newberry of the Delmarva Fisheries Association.

Captain Robert Newberry is talking about the quality of the Chesapeake Bay, the major waterway connecting states including Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia. Out on the water, watermen are not seeing water quality improve, now wildlife is paying for it. “The crabs, the crabs can swim away from it. The fish can swim away from it. The oyster in the clams got to sit there and take the brunt of it. And that’s that’s the problem. You know that salinity is creeping up in the bay,” said Captain Newberry.

With algae blooms, water quality is worsening which is also creating health impacts for humans and pets. “We have a rainstorm that washes away into the rivers, into the streams. That’s very upsetting for residents who are seeing this. But then it also chokes out some of the seagrasses and the wildlife living in there when that happens,” said Emily Ranson, Maryland Director of Clean Water Action.

In order to strengthen the bay, Emily Ranson says more enforcement is needed, starting with policy changes. “So these are, you know, different interventions, whether it be stream buffers, whether it be storm water projects, whether it be the cover crops, things like that to reduce the amount of nutrients coming off the land,” said Ranson. “The EPA’s doing what they can do. Maryland needs to step up to the plate and be a little bit more proactive,” said Captain Newberry.

Also with the current heat wave, Ranson says there is also concern for little critters and their ability to survive. Ranson says after rainstorms, you should wait at least 48 hours before getting into any rivers, bays,  or streams because of the amount of sewage coming into the water.

Captain Newberry adds that if change is not done in a timely manner, this could get worse.

The University of Maryland completed a study on the Chesapeake Bay, read here.