IV-416 



polluted by the municipal wastes of the Washington metropolitan 

 area. Nowhere 1s there such a clear example of the effects of 

 massive municipal waste discharges on an estuary. During the low 

 flow periods of the warm summer months, dissolved oxygen levels 

 approach zero in some reaches, being kept from total depletion 

 by heavy production from large algae growths. The effects of 

 these waste discharges are measurable along twenty miles of the 

 river (IV-5-9). 



James River, Va. 



Another example of sewage wastes in an estuarine system is the 

 James River 1n Virginia (Figure IV. 5. 28). The James River is the 

 most southerly major tributary of the Chesapeake Bay. It is ap- 

 proximately 400 miles in length and varies in width from five miles 

 at the mouth to less than 0.1 mile in its upper extremities. The 

 River is tidal from its mouth to the city of Richmond, a distance 

 of 90 nautical miles. The freshwater - saltwater interface 

 migrates between river mile 24 and 60, depending on tide and river 

 flow conditions. 



Richmond, Va., is the major waste source on the upper James. 

 Wastes from this city have caused an over enrichment of the upper 

 river section which has resulted in nuisance growths of algae 

 typical of polluted water. The saline sections of the River have 

 not reflected hyper- fertilization and are in the transitional stages, 



