Chesapeake Bay River Input Monitoring Program

Potomac River at Chain Bridge at Washington, D.C.

The Potomac River is Chesapeake Bay's second largest tributary, contributing about 17 percent of the streamflow from the nontidal part of the Chesapeake Bay Basin. The Potomac River monitoring station at Chain Bridge in Washington, D.C., receives streamflow from 80 percent of the 14,670 mi² Potomac River Basin. The Potomac River is the second largest source of nitrogen and phosphorus from the nontidal part of the Chesapeake Bay Basin. It contributes about 20 percent of the total streamflow, 28 percent of the total nitrogen load, and 33 percent of the total phosphorus load. The River Input Monitoring station lies upstream of the municipal wastewater discharges of the Metropolitan Washington, D.C., area, so water-quality characteristics and trends for this station do not reflect contributions or changes in these wastewater discharges. Although water samples are collected at this location, discharge measurements cannot be made here due to heavy traffic and difficulties with access. The station used to compute loads for this site, therefore, is the Potomac River near Washington, D.C., USGS station 01646500, 1.2 mi upstream from Chain Bridge.

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U.S. Department of Interior, U.S. Geological Survey
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URL://va.water.usgs.gov/chesbay/Rimp_noframe/01646580.html      Last modified: 09/20/01 09:58:16 AM