IV-404 



The Northeastern coast of the United States 1s the most Intensively 

 used and the best studied part of the estuarine resource (Figure IV. 

 5.21). From the Virginia-North Carolina border to the tip of Maine 

 there are 10 coastal states encompassing 15 major estuarine systems 

 and harboring an estimated 1966 population of 45,416,000. Economic 

 development Includes a wide variety of commercial, Industrial, 

 and governmental activities. Nearly all waste products from this 

 all -encompassing megalopolis are discharged to the estuarine 

 systems. The Chesapeake Bay system, which 1s one of the largest 

 estuarine complexes in the country, has many areas of water quality 

 impact. The problems in the Potomac River downstream from the 

 Nation's capitol are documented by numerous scientific studies. 

 Pollution 1n Baltimore Harbor and noxious conditions 1n the James 

 River have been recorded in detail. (IV-5-10) 



The Delaware River and Bay system has been the subject of con- 

 siderable study for the development of a water quality restoration 

 program. Likewise Boston Harbor, Penobscot Bay, New York Harbor, 

 and Narragansett Bay have been studied in detail to quantify water 

 quality changes and to provide a technical base for developing 

 remedial measures. 



The estuarine zones along the coast from North Carolina to southern 

 Florida have not been studied as extensively as those in the 

 Northeast (Figure IV. 5.2V). Except for Charleston Harbor and the 



