Chesapeake Bay Foundation Statement on Bay Cleanup Progress

The Chesapeake Bay Program this week released its latest modeling on clean-up efforts, which showed significant declines in pollutants entering the Bay between 2009 and 2025.

Model results indicated that as of 2025, jurisdictions in the Chesapeake Bay watershed had met their goals for sediment reduction, hit 90% of their goal for phosphorus reduction, and met 57% of their goal for nitrogen reduction.

Wastewater treatment plant upgrades contributed to most of the gains in nitrogen and phosphorus reductions, and the agricultural sector was one of the largest contributors for sediment reduction, according to the models.

Excess nitrogen and phosphorus are harmful to Bay ecology, fueling algal blooms that cloud the water and use up oxygen when they die and decompose.

These numbers only tell part of the story. Monitored, real-world results and measurements—combined with rigorous modeling and other research—can ultimately provide a more complete picture.

Today, pollution is still fouling Baltimore Harbor, rivers like the Choptank are showing troubling signs, climate change is increasingly flooding communities like Norfolk as algal blooms surface in Virginia waters, and tens of thousands of miles of Pennsylvania’s rivers and streams remain impaired. Broad-based, continued efforts will be necessary to truly restore and save the Bay.

Cutting sediment, nitrogen, and phosphorus from flowing into the Bay are critical parts of the revised Bay Agreement, agreed upon last year, which has a uniform deadline of 2040 for meeting Bay restoration goals. States should put the investments and policies in place to meet those goals before 2040.

Chesapeake Bay Foundation President & CEO Hilary Harp Falk issued the following statement:

“There is real progress in these numbers, and it is worth celebrating. But modeled pollution reductions are only part of the story. What ultimately matters is what we see and measure in our rivers, streams, and the Chesapeake Bay itself—which indicates there is still significant work to be done.

“We need more monitoring to understand how the system is responding: where investments are improving water quality, where to best target resources toward the places and practices that deliver the greatest returns, and how to maximize accountability for measurable results.

“As we combat ever-shifting conditions from climate change, we need the courage to change course when the evidence tells us something isn’t working as expected.

“When it comes to the Bay, accountability matters most. Meeting the revised Bay Agreement’s 2040 deadline will require sustained investment, decisions driven by science, and accountability at every level of government.”