A new program under The Whole Watershed Act has selected located five locations two of which are on the Maryland Eastern Shore to improve the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. In our weekly series with the Bay Journal Delmarva Public Media's Don Rush talks with reporter Jeremy Cox about the new approach. The full interview can be heard on this Friday's Delmarva Today at noon on WSDL and WESM.
Two Eastern Shore waterways are among five pilot projects selected under Maryland's Whole Watershed Act, an ambitious effort aimed at improving water quality in areas where residents fish, boat and spend time along the shoreline.
The initiative, approved by state lawmakers in 2024, shifts some restoration efforts away from the Chesapeake Bay's deeper waters and toward local rivers, creeks and shallow coastal areas.
"The idea behind that came from a report that was put out by the Chesapeake Bay Program that suggested that restoration should really concentrate on these shallow waterways near the shoreline and in rivers where a lot of the life in the water comes from," said Bay Journal reporter Jeremy Cox.
The Upper Choptank River and Newport Bay near Ocean City were selected as part of the program's initial round of projects. The five watersheds were chosen through a competitive process designed to represent a variety of landscapes and communities across Maryland.
"The idea here is not just picking the easiest or trying with the hardest," Cox said. "Since this is a pretty grand experiment, how can it work in different kinds of landscapes and then inform perhaps future restoration down the line."
In the Upper Choptank watershed, restoration efforts are expected to focus on reducing agricultural runoff, particularly excess fertilizer that can wash into local waterways. Cox said the state will likely work with large landowners to implement practices that better target fertilizer use and limit pollution.
Meanwhile, in the Newport Bay watershed, projects are expected to center on stormwater management. Improvements would help capture, slow and filter runoff before it reaches the bay.
State officials hope the pilot projects will demonstrate whether localized restoration efforts can produce measurable improvements in water quality and habitat conditions across Maryland's diverse waterways.
