The Upper Eastern Shore watershed drains approximately 1,300 square miles of land. This area includes portions of Cecil, Queen Anne's, and Talbot Counties and all of Kent County. Major bodies of water include the Chester, Elk, Bohemia, Sassafras, and Northeast Rivers, and Eastern Bay. Almost half of the land in the Upper Eastern Shore watershed is agricultural, and a third of the land is covered in forest. Major towns in the area include Elkton, Chestertown, Grasonville, Centreville, and North East. Census population for the watershed in 2000 was 125,000. There are eight major wastewater treatment plants in the watershed. (Based on MD DNR Tributary Strategy Report by Aadland et al., 2007 and updated 2000 land use classifications).
