IV-566 



EXTENT OF POLLUTION EFFECTS 



Environmental damage from human activities manifests Itself in 

 changes in water quality and in changes in the living communities. 

 Either or both may be caused by any of the kinds of pollution or 

 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 Bay, New York Harbor, 

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

 James River, Charleston Harbor, Savannah River, Biscayne Bay, San 

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

 Galveston Bay, Laguna Madre, San Diego Bay, Santa Monica Bay, 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 aquatic life forms suddenly dying, or 



