Although improvements in water quality have been seen in the last 15 years, the Bay still has a great distance to go to recovery. Nutrients in high concentrations have been found in the water in several areas, resulting in harmful conditions, such as algal blooms and the Pfiesteria outbreak in 1997. These practices, however, are not the only causes of the problem. Another major stressor to the health of the Bay is the air pollution that can originate nearby, and as far away as Indiana, Canada, and Georgia. In fact, the airshed of the Bay is six and a half times the size of its 64,000 square-mile watershed.
Air quality is a big actor in the health of the Bay.
Nitrogen Pollution Years ago, water and air pollution were considered two separate problems. Only recently has research shown the close link between these environmental threats. Emissions of NOx are created by automobiles, electric utility plants, factories, boats, lawn-cutting equipment, and construction equipment. The NOx eventually settle back to the surface and enter the water directly or are washed from soil and impervious surfaces during rain to a water source. Scientists estimate that about one-quarter of the nitrogen entering the Bay is from the air.