The
Susquehanna and the Chesapeake Bay
The
Susquehanna River (originally "Sasquesahanough"
on the 1612 map by John Smith) is approximately
444 miles (715 km) long. It is the longest river
on the American east coast and the 16th longest in the
United States.
The
Susquehanna has two main branches, with the North Branch,
which rises in upstate New York often regarded as an
extension of the main branch. The shorter West Branch,
which rises in western Pennsylvania, is often regarded as
the principal tributary, joining the North Branch near
Northumberland in central Pennsylvania.
The
Susquehanna drains 27,500 square miles
(71,225 km²), covering nearly half of the land area of
Pennsylvania and portions of New York and Maryland. The
river empties into the northern end of the Chesapeake Bay
at Havre de Grace, Maryland, providing half of the
freshwater inflow for the bay.
The
Susquehanna receives sediment and pollution from stream
channel erosion, agricultural runoff, urban and suburban
storm water, raw or inadequately treated sewage, and
abandoned mine drainage. The U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) has identified suspended sediment as the most
critical pollutant to mitigate.
In
2003 the Susquehanna River contributed 21% of the
sediment, 44% of the nitrogen, and 21% of the
phosphorus flowing into the Chesapeake Bay. As a
result of missing a 2010 deadline to reduce nutrient
loads sufficiently to restore the bay ecosystem, EPA
is currently establishing a mandatory “nutrient diet”
or total maximum daily load (TMDL) for nitrate and
phosphate levels in the watershed.
Recent
assessments of the watershed’s health vary considerably. In
2005, for example, the agency American Rivers identified
the Susquehanna as America’s
Most Endangered River while
the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural
Resources awarded the West Branch of the Susquehanna
the River
of the Year.
Continued
collaboration between scientists at universities,
state and federal agencies, and public watershed
groups is needed to arrive at an accurate assessment
of the river and identify ways to improve conditions
in the watershed.