The Nonpoint Source Challenge:
Obstacles and Opportunities for Meeting Nutrient Reduction Goals in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed
Informing Chesapeake Bay Watershed Management by Monitoring Trends in River Nutrient and Sediment Loads
Discovering Connections Across America's Lands and Waters
USGS Chesapeake Accomplishments and Highlights for 2024
Road salt elevates salinity above background levels in freshwater streams and rivers across the Chesapeake Bay Watershed
Wastewater and landscape sources contributing to pesticide contamination
Potomac River watershed
PFAS found in Smallmouth Bass throughout the mid-Atlantic United States
Publications
Discover Chesapeake related science in reports and journal articles authored by USGS scientists
Chesapeake Bay Activities
The Chesapeake Bay is our Nation’s largest estuary and provides over $100 billion in annual economic value. The USGS works with Federal, State, local, and academic partners to provide research and monitoring and to communicate results to inform management for the Chesapeake and other important landscapes across the Nation.
Informing Freshwater Management Strategies

Human activities in the Chesapeake Bay watershed can negatively affect the abundance and diversity of macroinvertebrate communities in freshwater streams, which is a core measure of stream health. A major goal of the Chesapeake Bay Program restoration effort is to improve stream health conditions in 10% of streams throughout the watershed.
Quick Links
Learn more about USGS science activities in the Bay from our Science Strategy. Additional summaries of the USGS Chesapeake Bay Activities are available in the science topics section.