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encompassing megalopolis are discharged to the estuarine systems. The 

 Chesapeake Bay system, which is one of the largest estuarine com- 

 plexes in the country, has many areas of water quality impact. The 

 problems in the Potomac River downstream from the Nation's Capital 

 are documented by numerous scientific studies. Pollution in Baltimore 

 Harbor and noxious conditions in the James River have been recorded 

 in detail. (IV-5-10) 



Tlie Delaware River and Bay system has been the subject of consid- 

 erable study for the development of a water quality restoration pro- 

 gram. 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 

 (fig. IV.5.21) . Except for Charleston Harbor and the Savannah River, 

 little concerted effort has been expended in documenting quality 

 changes. The rapid growth of the Miami area is focusing attention on 

 the estuarine waters of southern Florida. The water quality of estu- 

 aries of the U.S. Gulf coast is well-defined by field investigation only 

 in several critical problem areas. Tampa Bay, the Mississippi Delta to 

 a lesser extent, the Houston ship channel, and parts of Laguna Madre 

 in Texas, have been investigated from the water quality standpoint. 



The geomorphology of the Pacific coast is different from that of the 

 AtlantJic and Gulf (f%. IV.5.21) . The coast, for the most part, is com- 

 posed of steep rocky bluffs with little or no beach. The estuaries are 

 natural watercourses cut through bluffs and are generally enclosed to 

 some degree by an oceanward sandbar. Because of this rugged coast- 

 line, intense urbanization has occurred only near the major estuarine 

 systems that form natural harbors. This unique settlement pattern has 

 been reflected in the concentration of estuarine water quality work 

 along the Pacific coast. Systems such as San Diego Bay, San Pedro 

 Bay, Santa Monica Bay, Monterey Bay, San Francisco Bay, and Puget 

 Sound have been studied rather intensely, to either define localized 

 problems, or to reflect long term degradation. Examples are the studies 

 of San Diego Bay that led to the construction of a metro-sewage sys- 

 tem with disposal through a deep ocean outfall ; investigations of pulp 

 and paper industrial pollution of Puget Sound ; studies of the effects 

 on the Columbia River of radioactive wastes from Hanf ord, Wash. ; 

 and the effect of agricultural drainage from the Central Valley of 

 California on San Francisco Bay. 



Most of the estuarine zones of Alaska are still unknown quantities 

 from the water quality standpoint (fig. IV.5.24). Pollution has made 

 some impact on isolated areas but the degree of damage is not well- 

 documented. In Hawaii the situation is very similar. Except for Pearl 

 Harbor and Kaneohe Bay there is an extreme paucity of data on the 

 estuarine areas. Guam, Samoa, and the Virgin Islands have not yet 

 felt intense development. Tlie potential of these areas is still to be ex- 

 plored. The scope of existing water quality problems as well as extent 

 of water quality change is not known. Puerto Rico has development 

 concentrated in separated coastal areas. San Juan Harbor has been 

 studied rather extensively and is in poor water quality condition (fig. 

 IV.5.21). Pollution surveys have also been carried out in the estuaries 



