July 2013 was one of the hottest months on record but the annual rainfall was above average. Nutrients and sediments that were carried by storm water affected the health of the Chesapeake Bay significantly. Continuations of degradation of the Eastern Shore tributaries, which are dominated by agricultural land use, remains and the Upper Eastern Shore, which includes tributaries between the Chesapeake-Delaware Canal and the Choptank River, such as the Elk, Sassafras, Chester, and Miles Rivers, has decreased in nutrient quality. Due to the heavy rainfall, fertilizer and chicken manure from fields on the Delmarva Peninsula washed into the Bay. However, the western shore tributaries have generally improved, due in part to the success of the sewage treatment upgrades removing nitrogen and phosphorus, and the decline in atmospheric nitrogen deposition.
In the Upper Eastern Shore Watershed, high rainfall brought degrading conditions to the area. The intense rain was accompanied by increased amounts of nutrient and sediment runoff from the tributaries that lay within the Upper Eastern Shore Watershed. Lands that are dominated mostly by agriculture have a negative impact on the bay as the fertilizer and chicken manure from the fields wash into the Chesapeake-Delaware Canal and the Choptank River. However, in the James River Watershed, high rainfall did not lead to degradation. The western shore tributaries improved due in part to the success of the sewage treatment upgrades removing nitrogen and phosphorus, as well as the decline in atmospheric nitrogen deposition, thus having a positive impact on Bay health for 2013.
