Book details status of the Chesapeake Bay watershed

MORGANTOWN, WV, August 7, 2001 — A book titled State of the Chesapeake Bay: A Report to the Citizens of the Bay Region is now available from the National Small Flows Clearinghouse (NSFC).

Developed by the Chesapeake Bay Program, this book is a report on the progress made to protect and restore the Chesapeake Bay. This 64,000 square-mile watershed is home to more than 3,000 species of plants and animals and at least 15.1 million people. The Chesapeake Bay Program partners have set clear goals for recovery through nutrient reduction and toxic pollution, as well as habitat protection and restoration, which have led to the return of Bay grasses and cleaner water.

This report highlights water quality conditions and the status of acquatic life. It explains the progress made to reduce the top four stressors on the Bay system: excess nutrients, toxic pollution, air pollution, and landscape changes. Also discussed are recent policy decisions and goals that are driving the overall clean-up effort, along with new findings, innovative technologies, and future challenges.

This 59-page book can be helpful to local, state, and public health officials and the general public. The book is free. To order, call the NSFC at (800) 624-8301 or (304) 293-4191, and request Item #WWBKPE54. You also may e-mail .

Funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the NSFC helps small communities find affordable sewage treatment options to protect public health and the environment. Located at West Virginia University, the NSFC is a nonprofit organization established in 1979 under an amendment to the 1977 Clean Water Act. Since that time, the NSFC has become a respected national source of information about "small flows" technologies-those systems that have fewer than one million gallons of wastewater flowing through them per day, ranging from individual septic systems to small sewage treatment plants.

Anyone who works with small communities to help solve wastewater treatment problems can benefit from the NSFC's services, which include more than 450 free and low-cost educational products, a toll-free technical assistance hotline, five computer databases, two free publications, and an online discussion group. For more information, visit NSFC's Web site at http://www.nsfc.wvu.edu.