"Chesapeake Bay Program partners released information on the state of the 2022 Chesapeake Bay dead zone. Experts from both the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and Virginia Institute of Marine Science concurred that hypoxic conditions in the Chesapeake Bay were better than average in 2022. . . These findings are on par with the forecast released in June 2022, which estimated a 13% smaller than average dead zone, predicted as such due to lower amounts of winter and spring precipitation that resulted in smaller river flows that brought fewer nutrient and sediment pollutants into the Chesapeake Bay from its surrounding watershed. This annual forecast is developed by the University of Michigan and informed by data provided by the Chesapeake Bay Program, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and U.S. Geological Survey. . ."