Publications

All of Washington, D.C., sits within the Chesapeake Bay watershed, which means all the District’s rivers—including the Anacostia and the Potomac—flow into the Bay. The District has committed to achieving 22 of the outcomes in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement. Its progress toward seven of these outcomes is highlighted here.

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The well-being of the Chesapeake Bay watershed will soon rest in the hands of its youngest citizens: 2.7 million students in kindergarten through twelfth grade. Establishing strong environmental education programs now provides a vital foundation for these future stewards. Along with Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia, Washington, D.C. has committed to helping its
students graduate with the knowledge and skills needed to act responsibly to protect and restore their local watersheds.

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The well-being of the Chesapeake Bay watershed will soon rest in the hands of its youngest citizens: 2.7 million students in kindergarten through twelfth grade. Establishing strong environmental education programs now provides a vital foundation for these future stewards. Along with Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C., Virginia has committed to helping its
students graduate with the knowledge and skills needed to act responsibly to protect and restore their local watersheds.

Download publication‍

The well-being of the Chesapeake Bay watershed will soon rest in the hands of its youngest citizens: 2.7 million students in kindergarten through twelfth grade. Establishing strong environmental education programs now provides a vital foundation for these future stewards. Along with Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania has committed to helping its students
graduate with the knowledge and skills needed to act responsibly to protect and restore their local watersheds.

Download publication‍

The well-being of the Chesapeake Bay watershed will soon rest in the hands of its youngest citizens: 2.7 million students in kindergarten through twelfth grade. Establishing strong environmental education programs now provides a vital foundation for these future stewards. Along with Delaware, Virginia and Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C., Maryland has committed to helping its students graduate with the knowledge and skills needed to act responsibly to protect and restore their local watersheds.

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Fact sheet that describes how nontidal wetland restoration is simulated in the Phase 6 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Model. Version: August 7, 2018

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In 2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (Bay TMDL). This historic clean-up plan provides a guide for reducing pollution and restoring clean water to the Chesapeake Bay and its local rivers, streams and creeks. To guide these efforts, Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia (collectively referred to as the “Bay jurisdictions”) created a series of roadmaps—known as watershed implementation plans (WIPs)—describing how each would achieve the pollution reductions called for in the Bay TMDL.

There are three phases of WIPs. Phase I and II WIPs were developed in 2010 and 2012, respectively, and describe actions to be implemented by 2017 and 2025 to achieve the goals of the Bay TMDL. Phase III WIPs, under development in the 2018 to 2019 timeframe, will describe actions Bay jurisdictions intend to implement to meet Bay restoration goals by 2025. Despite some jurisdictions having to do more in order to achieve their nutrient and sediment targets, each of the seven Bay jurisdictions reaffirmed their commitment to having all the practices and controls in place by 2025 to meet applicable water quality standards in the Chesapeake Bay.

On June 20, 2018, the EPA released its expectations for the Phase III WIPs, detailing what these documents should entail. Read the full expectations document.

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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provided expectations for the Phase I and Phase II Watershed Implementation Plans (WIPs) in 2009 and 2011, respectively, for the seven Chesapeake Bay watershed jurisdictions to demonstrate reasonable assurance that those allocations assigned to the jurisdictions would be achieved and maintained, and that the 2017 targets would be achieved. Through signing the 2014 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement, the jurisdictions reaffirmed their commitment to achieving these goals by 2025. In recent discussions, the jurisdictions remain committed to the 2025 goal.

EPA is now providing expectations for the jurisdictions’ Phase III WIPs to maintain accountability in the work under the 2010 Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (Bay TMDL), encourage continued adaptive management to the new information generated during and after the Bay TMDL 2017 midpoint assessment, and lay the groundwork for implementation of the next generation of innovative practices. In addition, the Principals’ Staff Committee (PSC) established expectations for how to account for changed conditions due to Conowingo Dam infill, climate, and growth. These expectations are directed toward ensuring that the seven jurisdictions, and their local, regional, and federal partners have all practices in place by 2025 that will achieve the Bay’s dissolved oxygen, water clarity/submerged aquatic vegetation, and chlorophyll-a standards.

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The main purpose of this BMP guide is to provide summarized profiles for each CBP-approved BMP in the Watershed Model. Each reference sheet includes basic general information about a BMP, how it functions within the Watershed Model, what’s needed for the BMP to be reported for annual progress submissions, as well as links to additional information for readers who want more detailed information about the practice. Implementation aspects of a practice, such as cost, potential ecosystem co-benefits or impacts, maintenance or funding sources are not discussed in the reference sheets because such information varies based on the characteristics and priorities of a region, state or local area.

Second Edition published 11/2022. BMP additions included 04/2024.

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Underwater grasses grow in the shallow waters of the Chesapeake Bay and its streams, creeks and rivers. These aquatic plants add oxygen to the water, store carbon, absorb nutrient pollution, trap sediment, reduce shoreline erosion and provide food and habitat to fish, blue crabs and waterfowl.

Learn more about the benefits of underwater grasses and what you can do to help them thrive.

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