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Maryland's
Tributary Teams
Cleaning Up the Chesapeake Bay...One River at a Time
Your River, Your Bay
Not everyone lives next to a stream or
river, but all of us live in a watershed. Whether you live right on
the water--or, like most Marylanders, within a half mile of your neighborhood
stream--your actions on the land can effect water quality in the streams
and rivers that feed the Chesapeake Bay.
Maryland's Tributary Teams--comprised
of local citizens, farmers, business leaders and government officials
appointed by the Governor--are working to keep your local waterways clean and healthy.
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As you may know, the health of the streams and rivers that flow through
your neighborhood directly affect the health of the Chesapeake Bay.
By controlling pollution upstream--in the streams and rivers that feed
the Chesapeake Bay--Maryland's Tributary Teams are working to make a
difference in our neighborhoods, our cities and towns, and the entire
Chesapeake Bay watershed.
Water Pollution Begins on the Land
Here in Maryland, major cleanup actions are now underway in
ten key Bay tributaries, under the guidance of the Tributary Teams. Using a watershed
approach to pollution control, these teams are tackling the nutrients that find their way
into our streams and rivers from widely scattered sources on the land. Excess fertilizers
from farm fields and suburban lawns, sewage from old septic systems, and sediment from
construction projects all can wash off the land and into our waterways every time it
rains. Even pollution from our own backyards and driveways can find its way into our
waterways through the network of storm drains that empty into neighborhood streams and
rivers. Therefore, the way we manage growth in our towns and cities, care for our lawns,
run our households, and grow our food can all affect water quality.
What's Being Done
Maryland's Tributary Teams meet regularly in each of the
Bay's ten major tributaries to help implement pollution prevention measures needed to
address local water quality problems. These teams are laying the groundwork to ensure
clean water and healthy rivers for future generations. A major focus of their efforts is
controlling nutrient pollution from farm fields and horse pastures, wastewater treatment
plants, construction and road building activities, and hundreds of thousands of suburban
properties.
Developing a pollution control plan unique to
each watershed, its population and its land-use patterns is no small
task. Among the pollution control options being implemented in each
tributary basin are upgrades to wastewater treatment plants, the planting
of stream-side forests to absorb nutrient runoff, best management practices
to reduce agricultural runoff and "smart growth" plans aimed
at concentrating new development and protecting open spaces and natural
habitat. This coordinated watershed-by-watershed approach brings the
Bay cleanup closer to home for the many citizens, businesses and local
governments working to protect local waterways and ultimately the Chesapeake
Bay.
The Chesapeake Bay Watershed
The Chesapeake Bay Watershed is the land area drained by all
the rivers and streams that flow into the Bay. Home to 14 million people, it extends
64,000 square miles and includes parts of six states and the District of Columbia. Like
all large watersheds, the Bay's watershed is made up of thousands of smaller watersheds
that drain into its tributaries. For example, the Monocacy River Watershed is part of the
larger Potomac River Watershed, which, in turn, is part of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.
Maryland's Ten Bay Tributary Basins
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