Welcome to the USGS web site dedicated to providing water-quality trend and load results for the nontidal rivers of the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

The objectives of the Chesapeake Bay nontidal monitoring program are to:

• Quantify sediment and nutrient loads in the nontidal rivers of the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
• Estimate changes over time (trends) in sediment and nutrient concentrations that are related to the implementation of Best Management Practices, or other anthropogenic factors.

The Data Provided

The data utilized for these analyses are collected by numerous agencies through the nontidal monitoring partnership. Results are presented for the 2011 water year for a network of 80 water quality monitoring stations distributed throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

Methods, data, results, and interpretations are available for:

• Sediment and nutrient loads
• Sediment and nutrient trends in concentration
• In-stream sediment and nutrient concentration data
• Stream discharge