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The Lower Western Shore Basin The Lower Western basin drains approximately 270 miles of land, including portions of Anne Arundel and Calvert Counties on the Western Shore of the Chesapeake Bay. Large water bodies in the basin include the Magothy, Severn, South, West, and Rhode Rivers. The Lower Western Shore Tributary basin is a varied landscape, and includes the highly developed areas of Annapolis, and the Route 2 corridor along with miles of Chesapeake Bay shoreline and farmland stretching into Calvert County. The Lower Western Shore, along with all tributary basins in the Chesapeake, contribute to and are impacted by nutrient pollution. |
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Nutrient pollution can be divided into two major categories – point sources (pollution that comes from a single, definable location, such as a wastewater treatment plant or industrial discharge) and nonpoint sources (pollution that cannot be attributed to a clearly identifiable, specific physical location, such as runoff from land and atmospheric deposition). Runoff from different land uses, point sources, and atmospheric deposition are the major sources of nutrients within the Bay watershed.
In the Lower Western Shore basin, land use is very mixed, and consists of high density and low density development and agriculture lands. While forests and wetlands are also a land use, they release few nutrients to rivers and the Bay. Baywide, approximately 33% of nitrogen loads come from atmospheric sources, however, that varies from basin to basin and is included in land based loads. Because of the highly developed nature of the Lower Western Shore, urban non-point sources are the largest contributors of nitrogen and phosphorus, in addition to the large contribution from point sources and septic systems for nitrogen. The nutrient loading from these sources threaten to increase with population growth. Population in the Lower Western Shore has increased by 96 % between 1970 and 2000, and is projected to grow by another 13% by 2020. Download the complete Basin Overview to learn more about the Lower Western Shore Basin. See the latest Lower Western Shore water quality data (charts for water temperature, salinity, water clarity and dissolved oxygen) or see water quality for other Bay tributaries. For water quality status and long-term trends, see our status and trends maps. Also, please check out the Basin Summary for the Lower Wester Shore Tributary Basin. |
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