More bad news for Chesapeake Bay
The fishing in the Bay hasn't been all that great this year, once the spring run
slowed. This article helps explain what's happening.http://www.richmondtimesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD/MGArticle/RTD_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1031785431596
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PocoLoco
Oct 4
2005
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| The problem is more from the rivers feeding the bay. Banning fertilizer along
all those creeks and rivers sounds good, but it isn't going to happen.
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PocoLoco
Oct 5
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| Absolutely true.
I work with these guys
http://www.dep.state.fl.us/coastal/sites/charlotte/volunteer/waterquality.htmwe
When we start tracing nutrients back to the source "lawns" in
communities without water discharge management programs are usually
the smoking gun.
It is popular to blame "big sugar" for the Okeechobee/Caloosahatche
mess but those folks forget the Kissimee river that is taking yard
runoff all the way to Orlando and dumping in in the big O. There are
also lots of big green lawns lining the two rivers. "Green lawn"
equals lots of fertilizer and lots of irrigation in Florida. I doubt the temperature alone has a lot to do with the DO level other
than the ability to increase oxidation of organic matter in the water.
We have no problem seeing DOs in the high 6s in the Gulf with water in
the high 80s. |
gfretwell
Oct 5
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| Fixed the link http://www.dep.state.fl.us/coastal/sites/charlotte/volunteer/waterquality.htm |
gfretwell
Oct 5
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| Not great news. So, forgiving my lack of knowledge in advanced science,
why can't huge "bubblers" be run to pump oxygen into the water? Works
for salt water fish tanks. |
Harry
Oct 4
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| It's a matter of scale in terms of parts per million or billion. You couldn't pump enough air though the water to make up for the
deficit. Plus, there are other factors causing the lack of oxygen
such as algae blooms, warmth and other issues. They had the same problem over in Mt. Hope Bay a few years ago, but it
was the result of the Brayton Point Power Plant pumping a couple of
million gallons of hot water into the bay every day. Until that was
mitigated, Mt. Hope Bay was a waste land even during the winter. |
Shortwave
Oct 4
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| We have a well-run nuke plant in the mid-bay area. There's talk of
building another reactor on the site. I'm not opposed to that. I wonder
if some sort of huge 24-7 oxy generating plant and pump could be
developed and powered by the waste heat in the coolant water pipes. I
appreciate your comment about scale, but I wonder if something large and
dramatic might not help even a little. |
Harry
Oct 4
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| Something on the scale of a nuke plant might well be part of the
answer, but more has to be done on the macro-environmental end of
things - waste, fertilizer wash down, etc. |
Shortwave
Oct 4
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| Bottom line is that hot water will not hold enough oxygen... IOW you
could put all the bubblers in that you want, but the warmer water
won't hold enough oxygen.... additionally, really warm water. Locally,
we have a lake that is used by a coal fed power plant and the water
close to the to the generating facility was 91 degrees last Thursday. At the coast we have a nuclear plant that releases the hot water some
distance from shore... thus mitigating some of the detrimental
environmental issues. Now.... if somebody could explain to me why the nuclear cost keeps
pace with the fossil fuel cost..... I'd know something!
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Gene
Oct 5
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| Well, there must be some sort of relief available from our wonderful
technology. |
Harry
Oct 4
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| You could reduce oxygen depletion by one simple act - ban the use of
lawn fertilizer within 10 miles of the coast line. Really. URI did a study about five years ago which attracted some
attention at the time because the research seemed to indicate that the
simple act of fertilizing lawns in proximity to bodies of water caused
almost 40% of the oxygen depletion near shore. |
Shortwave
Oct 5
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| We have a similar situation up here with Hood Canal. Doesn't flush well, lot of runoff from septic tanks, etc. Not enough oxygen dissolved in the water to sustain sea life. |
chuckgould.chu...
Oct 4
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