Chesapeake Bay, Small Coastal, Ocean Watershed

General Information about the Chesapeake Bay, Small Coastal, Ocean Watershed

Public Health Advisories and Aquatic Life Concerns

General Information about the Chesapeake Bay, Small Coastal, Ocean Watershed (From October 2002 305(b) Report, Virginia Department of Environmental Quality)

The Chesapeake Bay and Small Coastal Basin is located in the eastern part of Virginia. The Basin encompasses the small bays, river inlets, islands and shoreline immediately surrounding the Chesapeake Bay and includes the Bay itself. The entire basin lies within the Coastal Plain Physiographic Province. Much of the Basin is marshland. About 30% of the Basin is forested while nearly 21.6% is in cropland and pasture and 24% is considered urban. Tributaries in the Basin that drain to the Chesapeake Bay include Great Wicomico, Piankatank, Fleets Bay, Mobjack Bay, Poqouson, Back River, and Lynnhaven. Tributaries on the Eastern Shore that drain to the Chesapeake Bay include Pocomoke, Ononcock, Pungateague, Occohannock, and Nassawadox. Tributaries that drain directly into the Atlantic Ocean include Machipongo, Cat Point Creek, Assawoman Creek, Parker Creek, Folly Creek, and Finney Creek.

Public Health Advisories and Aquatic Life Concerns (From October 2002 305(b) Report, Virginia Department of Environmental Quality)

Little Creek	Shellfish Condemnation	Taking of shellfish is prohibited in this stream, Contact your local health department for more information.
Other Streams	Shellfish Restrictions	Shellfish may be harvested from some areas if they are relayed to approved waters for depuration. Check local health department for more information
Chesapeake Bay and its small coastal tributaries	PCBs	The advisory applies to anadromous striped bass and recommends eating no more than two meals a month and pregnant women and children are advised not to eat any of these fish.
East Branch Lynnhaven River	PCBs	The advisory applies to gizzard shad and recommends eating no more than two meals a month and pregnant women and children are advised not to eat any of these fish.
Little Creek	PCBs	The advisory applies to gizzard shad, spot and croaker and recommends eating no more than two meals a month while pregnant women and children are advised not to eat any of these fish
Tabb Creek	PCBs	The advisory applies to croaker and gizzard shad and recommends eating no more than two meals a month. Pregnant women and children are advised not to eat any of these fish.
Mobjack Bay and its tributaries East River, North River and Ware River in Mathews and Gloucester Counties	PCBs	The advisory applies to gizzard shad and recommends eating no more than two meals a month and pregnant women and children are advised not to eat any of these fish.

Groups Active In Your Basin

If your group is active in this watershed and you would like your information posted (contact person, activities, sites you monitor, stories, etc), please e-mail Stacey Brown at stacey at vasos.org or call (804) 615-5036.

Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay - contact:

Leslie Middleton
530 East Main Street, Suite 501, Richmond, VA 23219
www.acb-online.org
804-775-0951
Chemical Monitoring throughout the Chesapeake Bay Watershed

Data From Your Basin

Use the link above to take you to the VA SOS Monitoring Results Page.

For older data sets or different data format (such as an excel spreadsheet) please contact Stacey Brown at stacey at vasos.org or (804) 615-5036

If you collected data through 2001 and you can't find it here,
please contact Stacey Brown at stacey at vasos.org or (804) 615-5036.