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Warm Weather and Heavy Rain Make for Bay Dead Zone

Don Rush

The warm weather and a good deal of rain could be bad news for the Chesapeake Bay with the prospect of a 2 cubic miles dead zone.

WBOC reports that the Maryland Department of Natural Resources confirmed that they found a two mile zone that was significantly worse than in previous years.

Dead zones are created when there is no oxygen in the water.

Scientists say that the combination of freshwater pollution and heat have created the unusually large dead zone impacting bay’s watermen.

Queen Anne’s County waterman Dennis Anthony told the television station that it can take days to catch just a bushel of crabs.

Many watermen point to the fresh water and pollution coming from the Conowingo Dam for the adverse conditions in the bay.

Don Rush is the News Director at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.