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Backyards to the Bay Urban Nutrient Management Forum The Middle Potomac River Basin The mainstem river serves as a receiving tributary for upriver sources. Major tributaries include Seneca, Rock and Piscataway Creeks and the Anacostia River. |
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In the Middle Potomac River basin, land use is primarily developed. Because of the nature of the Middle Potomac, the largest portions of nitrogen come from point sources and urban non-point sources. The main sources of phosphorus laods are urban non-point and point sources in that respective order. Forest and wetlands are a land use that releases few nutrients to rivers and the Bay. Baywide, approximately 33% of nitrogen loads come from atmospheric sources; however, this figure varies from basin to basin and is included in land based loads. Download the complete Basin Overview to learn more about the Middle Potomac River Basin. See the latest Middle Potomac River water quality data (charts for water temperature, salinity, water clarity and dissolved oxygen) or see water quality for other Bay tributaries. For water quality status and long-term trends, see our status and trends maps. Also, please check out the Basin Summary for the Middle Potomac River Tributary Basin. |
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The Middle Potomac, along with all tributary basins in the Chesapeake, contribute to and are impacted by nutrient pollution. Nutrient pollution can be divided into two major categories – point sources (pollution that comes from a single, definable location, such as a wastewater treatment plant or industrial discharge) and nonpoint sources (pollution that cannot be attributed to a clearly identifiable, specific physical location, such as runoff from land and atmospheric deposition). Runoff from different land uses, point sources, and atmospheric deposition are the major sources of nutrients within the Bay watershed.