11-60 



sources of pollution mentioned earlier. One key to the degree of 

 environmental impact is measurement of alteration in water quality. 

 Extensive data have been collected on a few of the estuaries with 

 the most severe problems, and limited information is available on 

 other estuarine systems to outline the emergence, or document the 

 existence, of water quality problems. 



Examples of estuarine systems that show definite documented water 

 quality degradation as a result of human activities are these: 

 Penobscot Bay, Boston Harbor, Moriches Ray, New York Harbor, 

 Raritan Bay, Delaware Estuary, Baltimore Harbor, Potomac River, 

 James River, Charleston Harbor, Savannah Piver, Riscayne Bay, San 

 Juan Harbor (P.R.), Tampa Ray, Pensacola Bay, Mississippi fiver, 

 Galveston Bay, Laguna Madre, San Diego Bay, Los Angeles Harbor, San 

 Francisco Bay, Columbia River, Puget Sound, Silver Bay (Alaska), 

 and Hi lo Harbor (Hawaii). 



Pollutional damage to estuarine ecosystems may be sudden and 

 dramatic as fish or other aguatic life forms suddenly dying, or 

 it may be so gradual as not to be noticed for many years. Many 

 studies of different asoects of estuarine biology have been made, 

 but there are only a few cases in which comprehensive ecoloqical 

 studies have been made of pollutional effects. 



All of the 25 estuarine systems listed above also show some 

 ecological damage, but in 3R percent of the estuarine systems of 



