Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL)
What is the Bay TMDL?
On December 29, 2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency established the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL). The TMDL is a historic and comprehensive "pollution diet" to restore clean water in the Chesapeake Bay and the region's streams, creeks, and rivers.
Implementing the TMDL
A number of elements are in place to ensure that all pollution control measures needed to fully restore the Bay and its tidal rivers are in place by 2025. Practices will also be in place by 2017 to meet 60 percent of the necessary pollution reductions.
Progress in the Watershed
Actions are being taken across six states and the District of Columbia to reduce nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment loads to meet the clean water goals of the Bay TMDL.
Watershed Map
The Chesapeake Bay Watershed spans six states and the District of Columbia.