FRESHWATER INFLOW AND CHESAPEAKE BAY 



Mark Bundy 

 Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Annapolis, Maryland 



I am very pleased to discuss a 

 few of the problems and policies 

 associated with freshwater inflow to 

 estuaries. Even though the subject 

 is extremely broad and very diverse, 

 I have directed my comments to the 

 problems created from the competition 

 between man and estuaries for fresh- 

 water inflow. From the context of 

 this presentation, I am using the 

 term problem not to suggest an 

 adverse effect as a result of change, 

 but rather only to indicate that a 

 change has taken place. 



The largest estuary in North 

 America, of course, is the Chesapeake 

 Bay. It is 695 miles long from the 

 flats at the mouth of the Susquehanna 

 River to its mouth at Hampton, 

 Virginia. It varies in width from 

 4.2 miles to approximately 37.5 miles 

 and contains an average of 18 tril- 

 lion gallons of water. The total 

 drainage area for the bay is approx- 

 imately 64,000 square miles. Forty- 

 two percent of this is the Susque- 

 hanna drainage basin and another 22 

 percent comes from the Potomac River 

 Basin. In all, the Chesapeake Bay 

 drains six states and Washington, 

 D.C. Of the total volume of fresh- 

 water inflow, which averages approx- 

 imately 69,000 cubic feet per second, 

 the Susquehanna contributes 70 per- 

 cent. There are approximately 2,700 

 species of mammals, birds, fish, and 

 reptiles that have at one time or 

 another been found around the bay. 

 Among these are numerous species of 

 resident and migratory fish and 

 waterfowl which are dependent upon 

 the Chesapeake estuary for all or a 



significant part of their life. The 

 spawning of indigenous fish in the 

 Chesapeake waters contributes greatly 

 to the Atlantic coast stocks. This 

 is especially true of striped bass. 

 Researchers have estimated that 8 

 percent of the Atlantic coast strip- 

 ed bass population is spawning in 

 Maryland. 



As we are aware, the indigenous 

 life associated with estuaries must 

 share their water with our expand- 

 ing human population. Recent esti- 

 mates by the Army Corps of Engineers 

 indicate that by the year 2020, the 

 existing population around the Chesa- 

 peake Bay will double. This will 

 mean an increase from an existing 

 eight-plus million population to over 

 16 million people, most of whom will 

 be competing for their share of the 

 water. Commercial fishing, maritime 

 transportation, and a wide range of 

 recreational activities are examples 

 of man's various water-dependent ac- 

 tivities. Estuaries are also expect- 

 ed to provide water for municipal and 

 industrial waste. This, of course, 

 is not unique to estuaries. Rivers, 

 streams, and lakes and the inland 

 regions are also confronted with 

 these demands. Man treats all wa- 

 terways with equal disregard. Fish, 

 waterfowl, and aquatic plants must 

 also compete daily for their fair 

 share. If we were to look at a map 

 of the eastern United States, we 

 would see that most major urban 

 areas are located adjacent to an 

 estuary. New York City on Raritan 

 Bay, Philadelphia on the Delaware 

 Bay, and the Newport News complex on 



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