The dead zone in the Chesapeake Bay showed little sign of improvement this year compared to the past several years, according to a report released one week after state and federal officials re-upped a commitment to reducing pollution.
For decades, portions of the nation’s largest estuary have been so deprived of oxygen that fish and crabs cannot survive. The problem occurs in the summertime and is driven by nutrient pollution tied to farms, sewage plants and increased development, as well as warm water temperatures.
This year, the bay experienced 60 days of hypoxia, the technical term for dead zones, according to an annual report card from the Virginia Institute of Marine Science. At its peak in July, the phenomenon affected 12 percent of water in the bay, the report said.
The findings confirm that states and federal agencies must quickly follow through on their recent commitments to reduce pollution, according to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. At a meeting last week, states surrounding the bay and the federal government recommitted to a pollution plan first penned in 2010 but pushed back the deadline for achieving the targeted reductions to 2040.
