Here's How Other Nearby Estuaries Were Rated
Long Island Sound was rated poor* in the National Estuary Program Coastal Condition report that I wrote about yesterday, and estuaries in the northeast in general were rated poor. How about other specific estuaries near us? Here's how they rated:
Peconic Bays -- good
Narragansett Bay -- poor
New York/New Jersey Harbor -- poor
Barnegat Bay -- fair
I should point out that the report covered only estuaries in EPA's National Estuary Program. Chesapeake Bay, which has been studied and worked on for longer than the National Estuary Program has been in existence, isn't included, nor are Long Island's South Bays.
* Correction: I originally wrote that the Sound was "fair."
Peconic Bays -- good
Narragansett Bay -- poor
New York/New Jersey Harbor -- poor
Barnegat Bay -- fair
I should point out that the report covered only estuaries in EPA's National Estuary Program. Chesapeake Bay, which has been studied and worked on for longer than the National Estuary Program has been in existence, isn't included, nor are Long Island's South Bays.
* Correction: I originally wrote that the Sound was "fair."
Labels: National Estuary Program
posted by Tom Andersen at 7:32 AM
1 Comments:
Hey Tom I was checking up on the lower Texas area (poor) and then the Long Island Sound chapter. It says the overall condition of LIS is poor:
"The overall condition of Long Island Sound is rated poor based on the four NCA indices of estuarine condition
(Figure 3-50)."
The report seems to be backed by the LISS and cites its various studies extensively. There is even a special section about the loss of esturary marshes, in some places about 50% since 1974 (that's about when I left CT - 1976).
Taken together with increased pollutant loads such as from POTW (the sewage plants), less marsh means less ability to produce oxygen and to filter the water of contaminants. Just a hunch?
-Sam
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