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The Patapsco - Back River Basin Larger waterbodies in the basin include Back River, Gwynns and Jones Falls, the North and South Branches of the Patapsco River, Lake Roland, Piney Run Reservoir, Liberty Reservoir, and Baltimore Harbor, a tidal embayment formed at the confluence of the Patapsco River and the Jones and Gwynns Falls. |
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In the Patapsco/ Back River basin, land use is mostly developed land with some forest and agricultural lands. Because of the developed nature of the Patapsco and Back Rivers, urban non-point and point sources both account for approximately 33% of the nitrogen and phosphorus loads, while agriculture contributes roughly one fifth of the nutrients. In this basin, as in the rest of the state, forest and wetlands are a land use that releases 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. Download the complete Basin Overview to learn more about the Patapsco-Back River Basin. See the latest Patapsco-Back River 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 Patapsco-Back Rivers Tributary Basin. |
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The Patapsco and the Back Rivers, along with all tributary basins in the Chesapeake, contribute to and are impacted by nutrient pollution. 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.