Welcome
This web site is dedicated to providing water-quality load and trend results for the nontidal rivers of the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
What are the Objectives of the Chesapeake Bay Nontidal Monitoring Program?
- Quantify nutrient and sediment loads in the nontidal rivers of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. These loads are defined as the mass of nutrient or sediment passing a monitored location per unit time.
- Estimate changes over time (trends) in sediment and nutrient loads, in a manner that compensates for any concurrent trend in stream discharge. Trends estimated in this manner can indicate changes in the watershed, such as the effects of best management practices that cannot be attributed primarily to climatic fluctuation.
How the Program Works
- Monitoring data are collected by numerous agencies through the nontidal monitoring partnership.
- Results are updated on even-numbered water years for the network of water-quality monitoring stations distributed throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
What Data and Related Information Are Available?
Methods, data, results, and interpretations are available for
- Nutrient and sediment loads and yields (per-acre loads)
- Trends in nutrient and sediment loads
Water Year 2015 load and trend results are now available for the following 9 major rivers with the longest water-quality records:
- Choptank River near Greensboro, Md, (01491000)
- Susquehanna River at Conowingo, Md. (01578310)
- Patuxent River near Bowie, Md. (01594440)
- Potomac River at Chain Bridge at Washington, D.C. (0164580)
- Rappahannock River near Fredericksburg, Va. (01668000)
- Pamunkey River near Hanover, Va. (01673000)
- Mattaponi River near Beulahville, Va. (01674500)
- James River at Cartersville, Va. (02035000)
- Appomattox River at Matoaca, Va. (02041650)
Load and trend results remain available for the rest of the monitoring network through the 2014 water year, and will be updated through 2016 next year.
CLICK HERE for a summary of results through water year 2015
CLICK HERE for a summary of results through water year 2014