By Sienna Burns~
As explored in our last article, nutrient pollution has devastating effects on our Chesapeake Bay, but where exactly do these pollutants come from and how do they end up in our bay? The answer is simple: runoff. Whether it be the water that runs down after precipitation, the muck that is carried through the stormwater lines, or drainage through soil, it results in algae blooms and has devastating consequences for the bay life.
Agricultural runoff and seepage is the leading cause of nutrient and sediment pollution in the Chesapeake Bay. Half of all nitrogen and phosphorus deposits in our watershed come from agricultural areas, specifically factory farms which nationwide produce 300 million tons of waste. This waste, or manure, pollutes surface and groundwater with heavy metals, pharmaceuticals, pathogens, and hormones. Affecting reproduction in organisms, causing algae blooms, and suffocating bottom dwelling marine life, these pollutants are destroying our bay’s once thriving community. Pollutants may not currently seem like a widespread problem, but chemical contamination like fertilizers and insecticides have already impaired 75% of the bay. Furthermore, these piles of waste emit ammonia into the air which through precipitation and other means eventually accumulates in the Chesapeake Bay. These dangerous levels of pollutants in the bay are offsetting the natural balance and causing deterioration of vital ecosystems. Bioaccumulation, the process of a contaminant being carried from prey to predator through the food web, has become a much larger problem with the increase of agricultural runoff. Heightening these already dire conditions, tillage and poor irrigation on farms have disrupted groundwater filtration and caused excessive erosion. Sustainable farmers who have made an effort to prevent agricultural effects on our watershed are diminished by big-shot companies, losing any chance they have to compete in the industry. Unless we make a change soon, we will never even have the chance to.
If we choose to point to the agricultural industry for blame for our bay’s degradation we must also take the industrial and residential effects into account. Stormwater alone is responsible for 16% of nitrogen, 18% of phosphorus, and 24% of sediment in the bay according to a 2015 study. Adding to these already staggering statistics, industrial facilities account for 15% of nitrogen and phosphorus deposits in the bay which have already been traced back to municipal wastewater treatment plants and chemical manufacturers. The majority of these nutrients and pollutants are picked up by runoff and carried to the Chesapeake Bay, slowly deteriorating habitats and plummeting water quality. Furthermore, pollutants seep into underground aquifers which then travel into nearby waterways, contaminating the waters it integrates into. Our watershed is a large web of interconnecting water sources, which all in some way all find their way to the Chesapeake Bay. Thus, everything that is deposited into the watershed’s waters risks the possibility of ending up in the bay. Stopping the nutrients and pollution at their source is the only way from saving our bay from their disastrous effects.
Finally, we can understand that without immediate and severe action we will never be able to reverse the devastation that has been imposed on the Chesapeake Bay from our choices. The effects of pollutants in our watershed will one day be impossible to ignore thanks to a lengthy “lag time” in groundwater passage. After stopping the direct source, pollutants and nutrients will not appear in the bay for a long time, possibly decades, hiding us from our true consequences. Hence, the Chesapeake Bay is facing an impending crisis once our decisions and neglect of the bay catch up to us.
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