Abstract

Restoring the Chesapeake Bay with ArcGIS
Track: Water Resources
Authors: Thomas Williams

The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in North America. Draining 64,000 square miles, the Chesapeake Bay watershed stretches from Virginia Beach to Cooperstown, New York. In 2009, President Obama declared the Chesapeake Bay a National Treasure. This paved the way for the Chesapeake Bay TMDL - a "pollution diet" with strict requirements designed to jump-start environmental restoration throughout the watershed.

As part of the Chesapeake Bay TMDL, many towns, cities, and counties throughout the watershed will need to reduce pollution flowing into the Bay. Over the next two decades, local governments will design and build stormwater projects to improve water quality.

Working with several communities in Virginia, AMEC developed a set of Python tools for ArcGIS to plan, prioritize, and track projects to reduce pollution from stormwater systems. The AMEC Load Estimation and Reduction Tracking (ALERT) toolset is helping engineers improve local water quality and restore the Chesapeake Bay.