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Development of a multimetric water quality Indicator for tracking progress towards the achievement of Chesapeake Bay water quality standards

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Abstract

A multimetric water quality standards (WQS) attainment indicator (MMI) was created to assess the habitat quality of the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries. The indicator uses metrics of dissolved oxygen concentrations, water clarity assessments, underwater bay grass acreages, and season-specific chlorophyll a distributions. This suite of metrics is recognized as symptomatic of eutrophication and responsive to nutrient and sediment management actions. Habitat criteria for these metrics were established by the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) to protect the survival, growth, and reproduction of tidal bay living resources. The criteria were adopted into state WQS used to define outcome targets of the regulatory 2010 Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL). Direct accounting of monitoring results compared with state standards would be the most direct measure of water quality status related to achieving habitat health goal conditions under the TMDL. However, the Chesapeake Bay Program long-term water quality monitoring program that supports Clean Water Act 303d water quality impairment assessments does not provide sufficient measurement resolution across all temporal scales represented in these TMDL-related WQS. Recognizing data and analysis gaps, we developed the indicator to provide estimates of WQS attainment for the Chesapeake Bay. The structure of the indicator uses metrics that have been measured consistently with the historical Chesapeake Bay tidal water quality data collections since 1985. The ability to compute scores on contemporary and historical data will provide for bay-wide and spatially explicit long-term trend evaluations of habitat quality.

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Acknowledgments

This work resulted from the collaborative expertise and talent of Chesapeake Bay Program partnership state agency, federal agency, interstate river basin commissions, contract statistician, and academic institutional partners. Specific assistance for programming and data analysis are acknowledged from Richard Tian and Qian Zhang and figure contributions from Emily Trentacoste.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, 410 Severn Avenue, Annapolis, MD, 21403, USA

    Ana L. Hernandez Cordero

  2. U.S. Geological Survey, 410 Severn Avenue, Annapolis, MD, 21403, USA

    Peter J. Tango

  3. Coastwise Partners, Annapolis, MD, 21403, USA

    Richard A. Batiuk

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  1. Ana L. Hernandez Cordero
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  2. Peter J. Tango
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  3. Richard A. Batiuk
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Correspondence to Peter J. Tango.

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Hernandez Cordero, A.L., Tango, P.J. & Batiuk, R.A. Development of a multimetric water quality Indicator for tracking progress towards the achievement of Chesapeake Bay water quality standards. Environ Monit Assess 192, 94 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-019-7969-z

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