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<p>Efforts have been underway over 40 years to reduce nutrient pollution of the Chesapeake Bay, USA, in one of the world’s most sustained and studied campaigns to abate coastal eutrophication. Nitrogen and phosphorus loads have been reduced predominantly from advanced wastewater treatment and diminished atmospheric deposition of nitrogen. Reductions from nonpoint sources, including agricultural activities and stormwater, continue to fall short of targets set under legal requirements to meet a Total Maximum Daily Load by 2025. Water quality goals for the estuary have not been attained as quicky as some expected. Is it the case that the required load reductions will never be achieved or that the water quality goals would never be attained even if they were? Improvements in dissolved oxygen and water clarity have been documented consistent with scientific understanding of ecosystem responses, suggesting that improvements will accelerate as further load reductions are realized. Prioritizing reduction of pollution into localized, shallow water habitats would be counterproductive because it ignores the dominant role of recycling of nutrients from distant sources within the estuary as intensified by deep-water hypoxia. Reducing the most consequential loads from nonpoint sources should be addressed systemwide. Required reductions can be implemented by the new 2040 deadline, but require adjusting approaches to include efficacious incentives, targeting of the most significant sources, and alleviating nutrient mass imbalances in areas of intense animal production. Mandatory compliance, technological innovations, new or modified interstate compacts, and climate change adaptations should also be considered in developing and implementing an effective strategy.</p>

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Escape from Neverland: Reducing Nitrogen and Phosphorus Pollution to Achieve Water Quality Goals for the Chesapeake Bay

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

    开放获取

  • 发表日期：

    2026年8月1日

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  • Donald F. Boesch,
  • Walter R. Boynton,
  • Jon A. Mueller

摘要

Efforts have been underway over 40 years to reduce nutrient pollution of the Chesapeake Bay, USA, in one of the world’s most sustained and studied campaigns to abate coastal eutrophication. Nitrogen and phosphorus loads have been reduced predominantly from advanced wastewater treatment and diminished atmospheric deposition of nitrogen. Reductions from nonpoint sources, including agricultural activities and stormwater, continue to fall short of targets set under legal requirements to meet a Total Maximum Daily Load by 2025. Water quality goals for the estuary have not been attained as quicky as some expected. Is it the case that the required load reductions will never be achieved or that the water quality goals would never be attained even if they were? Improvements in dissolved oxygen and water clarity have been documented consistent with scientific understanding of ecosystem responses, suggesting that improvements will accelerate as further load reductions are realized. Prioritizing reduction of pollution into localized, shallow water habitats would be counterproductive because it ignores the dominant role of recycling of nutrients from distant sources within the estuary as intensified by deep-water hypoxia. Reducing the most consequential loads from nonpoint sources should be addressed systemwide. Required reductions can be implemented by the new 2040 deadline, but require adjusting approaches to include efficacious incentives, targeting of the most significant sources, and alleviating nutrient mass imbalances in areas of intense animal production. Mandatory compliance, technological innovations, new or modified interstate compacts, and climate change adaptations should also be considered in developing and implementing an effective strategy.