Report: Chesapeake Bay Health Is Not Improving

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The health of the ailing Chesapeake Bay has shown no improvement over the past year as pollution caused by population growth and development overwhelms cleanup efforts, according to a report released Thursday. The annual study by the Chesapeake Bay Program said the nation's largest estuary remains "severely degraded" because of contaminants such as nitrogen, phosphorous and sediments.

The health of the ailing Chesapeake Bay has shown no improvement over the past year as pollution caused by population growth and development overwhelms cleanup efforts, according to a report released Thursday.

The annual study by the Chesapeake Bay Program said the nation's largest estuary remains "severely degraded" because of contaminants such as nitrogen, phosphorous and sediments.

The bay's health is at 38 percent, with 100 percent representing a fully restored ecosystem, according to the federal-state partnership working on bay restoration.

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"The impact of human activity is overwhelming nature," the report states. The Chesapeake Bay watershed stretches about 64,000 square miles and includes about 17 million people in portions of New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia and the District of Columbia.

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