POLLUTION IN THE CHESAPEAKE BAY: 



A CASE HISTORY AND ASSESSMENT 



L. Eugene Cronin 



Director, Chesapeake Research Consortium, Inc. 



1419 Forest Drive 



Annapolis, Maryland 21403 



ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 



The opinions expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of the Trustees or 

 institutions of the Chesapeake Research Consortium. The library, excellent pro- 

 fessional cadre and general experience of the Consortium have been most valuable. 

 They are highly appreciated. This paper was not prepared on the time of the 

 Consortium. 



POLLUTION IN THE CHESAPEAKE BAY: A CASE HISTORY AND 

 ASSESSMENT 



THE BAY 



The tidal portion of the Chesapeake Bay system is the largest and most complex 

 estuary in the United States and the most valuable to human interests. It is a drowned 

 river valley system with many tributaries. Density gradients drive the two-layered 

 circulation typical of such estuaries. Detailed description is not appropriate in this 

 summary, since it has been provided in other publications (Chesapeake Research 

 Consortium, 1977; Corps of Engineers, 1974; Corps of Engineers. 1977; Cronin, L., 

 1967; Cronin, L.. 1976; Cronin, L., 1978; Cronin, W., 1971; Kuo et al., 1975; 

 Lippson, 1973; Schubel, 1972). 



Table 1 summarizes physical characteristics, the human population of the basin, 

 some of the principal uses, and projections for the future. The tidal Bay system lies in 

 Maryland and Virginia, but the drainage basin also includes portions of New York, 

 Pennsylvania, Delaware, the District of Columbia, and West Virginia. The Bay is 

 complex, highly productive, valuable for many purposes, and subject to rapid 

 expansion in usages, many of which currently cause pollution or create conflicts. The 

 Bay is outlined in Figure 1, and the names of places cited in this review are noted. 



The Chesapeake is the site and center of rapid change and vigorous human 

 activity. Most pollution problems are related to the sites of human population and 

 industrial activity; Figure 2 illustrates the locations of people and industry. While 

 this report emphasizes history, it is appropriate to include the best available projec- 

 tion of future distributions in Figure 3. The total population is expected to double, 

 with related increases in all aspects ot pollution. 



Even for the last decade, it is not feasible to report the full history of pollution 

 pressures, water quality, new learning, legislation, and action by government and the 

 public in a relatively short summary. The more limited purposes of this report are to 

 identify the principal pollutants, note exceptional progress and problems related to 



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