Fair water clarity corresponds to a wader not being able to see his feet in waist deep water. The degree of water clarity problems across the major subregions is related to the depths of the systems. Chesapeake Bay, being the deepest, has the overall highest water clarity. The shallow Delmarva coastal bays have the lowest. It should be recognized that not all water clarity problems are due to man's intervention.
Wind mixing in shallow water resuspends sediments and decreases water clarity.
The clarity of estuarine water is determined by a measure of the attenuation of sunlight through the water column.