Fertilizer and Animal Waste
Fertilizer and waste are a problem if they get into the Chesapeake Bay. They cause "eutrophication". This is when there are too many nutrients in the water.
The Chesapeake Bay is surrounded by farm land. Farmers use fertilizer to help their crops grow. Rain washes these fertilizers into streams, then into the Chesapeake Bay. There are chicken farms on the Eastern Shore. Companies like Purdue raise many, many chickens. The chickens produce waste. Rain washes this waste into streams, then into the Chesapeake Bay. People use fertilizer on their lawns. They also use soap with phosphates, which act like fertilizers. Soap goes down the drain, and phosphates get into the Chesapeake Bay.
The fertilizer and waste gets into the Chesapeake Bay. It makes small floating plants called algae grow very quickly. Too many small floating plants grow. This blocks sunlight from reaching the Submerged Aquatic Vegetation (plants growing on the bottom). The Submerged Aquatic Vegetation dies. Bacteria break down the dead plants. This uses up oxygen. There is not enough oxygen left for the animals that live in the water. They die.
How can people prevent this? People can use soaps without phosphates. They can grow gardens with plants that are native to Maryland, so they don't need so much fertilizer. They can use compost and organic fertilizers. Farmers need to find other fertilizers to use, or rotate crops so that the soil doesn't get worn out. People who aren't farmers can write to their elected representatives to ask for better rules about fertilizer. Chicken farmers can put their waste through a treatment system. That way the nutrients that make the algae grow won't get in the water.