Dissolved Oxygen Conditions ‘Better Than Average’ in Chesapeake Bay

Image Courtesy of Maryland Department of Natural Resources

CHESAPEAKE BAY – Recent data from July shows better-than-average dissolved oxygen conditions in the Chesapeake Bay.

Figures collected by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and Old Dominion University in early and late Jul. 2026 show lower-than-average volumes of hypoxia in the Chesapeake Bay mainstem of Maryland and Virginia.

Officials say the better-than-average dissolved oxygen conditions are in part attributable to the recent and persistent drought conditions experienced in the watershed. Lower water volumes flowing into the Bay means less nutrient pollution from phosphorus and nitrogen, and subsequently less algal blooms which cause hypoxia in deeper Bay waters.

Hypoxia is identified in waters with less than two milligrams of oxygen per liter. Crabs, fish, oysters, and other creatures in the Chesapeake Bay require dissolved oxygen to survive and suffer harmful impacts from hypoxic trends. Ongoing efforts to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus pollution from industrial and wastewater sources, agricultural land, and cities and towns are aimed at reducing hypoxic conditions in the Bay.

To read more about recent trends, click here.