Factors Affecting Water Quality

USGS scientists predicted stream biological conditions across the Chesapeake Bay watershed from 1985 through 2023, revealing widespread changes but only a ~1% increase in stream length classified as improved. These predicted improvements fell short of the Chesapeake Bay Program’s goal of improving the health of 10% of streams by 2025.

Connecting Conservation Practices to Local Stream Health in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed

Stream-restoration practices are widely used throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed to improve stream health and function, but research into their effectiveness is limited in agricultural settings. A study in Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania, suggests that stream-restoration practices can significantly reduce streambank erosion and enhance floodplain deposition, changes that can reduce in-stream...

Chesapeake Bay restoration efforts are focused on reducing nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment loads to the estuary. A new synthesis of existing long-term records of suspended-sediment concentrations suggests that only a limited amount of watershed sediment is currently transported by rivers past the tidal freshwater zone and into saltier waters of the Chesapeake Bay.

The Chesapeake Bay watershed is home to 18 million people and some of America’s most treasured natural resources – lands, waters, and wildlife that support a strong economy and cherished outdoor traditions, such as hunting and fishing. From local organizations to federal agencies, partners throughout the watershed are working to protect these resources. These partners rely on our unbiased, gold...

Stormwater management practices are being used throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed to reduce flood risks and pollutant loads, but consistent and comprehensive maps of these practices are often lacking. Stormwater managers often have incomplete information about the location and storage volume of stormwater facilities within their jurisdiction. Therefore, the USGS is working to develop...

Tires contain a chemical known as 6PPD which prevents them from quickly breaking down. Microscopic tire particles, generated mainly from the friction of tires on roads, release 6PPD-quinone (6PPDQ) when they come into contact with oxygen. During precipitation events, 6PPDQ can be washed off roads, harming fish in nearby waterways. In response to requests from fishery managers, the USGS is studying...

This study provides a comprehensive assessment of the health of streams throughout the Chesapeake Bay. Monitoring data were used to assess seven key indicators of stream condition, revealing consistent patterns of degradation in urban and agricultural areas. The findings offer critical insights that can inform watershed restoration efforts and improve long-term monitoring strategies.

The Chesapeake Bay provides over $100 billion in annual economic value and is home to 18 million people. The USGS, including scientists from the Eastern Ecological Science Center (EESC), works with Federal, State, local, and academic partners to provide research and monitoring and to communicate results to inform management for the Chesapeake and other important landscapes across the Nation.

The reuse of municipal wastewater provides multiple benefits, including maintaining stream flow, recharging aquifers, and providing public water supply. However, along with the benefits are concerns related to the presence of ‘forever’ chemicals, like per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in wastewater discharge. Managing PFAS in waterways is challenging because there are many potential PFAS...

Human activities in the Chesapeake Bay watershed can negatively affect the abundance and diversity of macroinvertebrate communities in freshwater streams, which is a core measure of stream health. For example, urban development and agricultural intensification can degrade habitat and water-quality conditions in streams through sedimentation, nutrient runoff, and changes to instream habitat. A...

USGS provides monitoring, analysis, modeling and research on streams and water quality to better understand the fate and transport of nutrients and sediment to the Susquehanna and other rivers, and their tributaries, and eventually to the Chesapeake Bay. Additional research focuses on emerging contaminants and other stressors that effect human and aquatic life in the watershed and estuary.