Provide Your Input on Plans to Improve the Water Quality of the Chesapeake Bay

The Chesapeake Bay is considered a natural resource of regional and national significance. Recreation, fish, wildlife and many businesses depend on the resources of the Bay, and reducing pollution is important to the states in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, including Virginia. In fact, about 43 square miles of the watershed lie within the city limits of Virginia Beach.

Chesapeake Bay TMDL

The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) established a requirement called the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) to measure and reduce polluting nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen from entering the Bay. The TMDL Action Plan Draft details activities the City proposes to take over the next five years to meet the DEQ’s requirements and reduce pollution to the Chesapeake Bay. Plans include:  

• Shoreline restoration 
• Constructed wetland projects
• Restoration of oyster reefs
• Wet ponds and lake retrofits  

Provide Your Input

Community members have the opportunity to review the plan and share their thoughts. Your feedback will help guide the City in finalizing the plan and implementing the projects. For more information and to provide input, visit VirginiaBeach.gov/ChesBayTMDL through Dec. 16. 

• Provide Input