Chesapeake Bay Program - A Watershed Partnership

Water Quality

Clear, healthy water is essential to the plants and animals that live in the Chesapeake Bay and its rivers. Healthy water contains a balanced amount of nutrients and has normal fluctuations in salinity and temperature. It also has plenty of dissolved oxygen so fish, crabs and other aquatic life can breathe and few suspended sediments so underwater bay grasses receive enough sunlight to grow.

Sections

Dissolved Oxygen

Learn why dissolved oxygen (DO) is vital to all of the Chesapeake Bay's underwater life and how oxygen gets into the water.

Chlorophyll a

Scientists use chlorophyll a to measure the amount of algae present in the Bay. High amounts of chlorophyll a in the Bay's waters are an indicator of nutrient pollution because excess nutrients fuel the growth of algae.

Water Clarity

Learn how water clarity — a measure of the amount of sunlight that can penetrate through the water — is important to Chesapeake Bay life and how scientists measure water clarity.

Physical Characteristics

Learn about salinity, temperature and circulation, three important physical characteristics of water that affect the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem.