In the long-term, the Chesapeake Bay is getting healthier. In the short-term — not so much.
That's the gist of an analysis by Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) scientists who looked at nutrient and sediment loads in the James River and eight other major tributaries in 2013 and compared them to 25-year averages.
They found that after steady improvement in the amount of pollution flowing into the bay since 1985, improvements slackened over the last decade.
They also evaluated water quality in the bay using three key variables — dissolved oxygen, underwater grass abundance and chlorophyll — and found that from 2011 to 2013 only 29 percent of the water quality standards necessary...