Anne Arundel County Waterways

If you live in Anne Arundel County, you live in a watershed. A watershed is a land area that captures rainfall and other precipitation and funnels it to a particular body of water. All of the land within Anne Arundel County drains into one of the 12 watersheds, and eventually into the Chesapeake Bay. 

Anne Arundel County’s 12 Watersheds

How healthy are our watersheds?

All the waterways in Anne Arundel County are considered “impaired” by the US EPA. Impaired waterways are not considered clean enough for fishing and swimming. When a waterway is classified as impaired water, the local government has to make a plan to cut the sources of pollution. This is what we call a watershed pollution diet.

Similar to a person cutting or limiting particular foods as part of a diet, a watershed’s “pollution diet” sets limits on pollutants such as sediment, nutrients, metals, or other contaminants that affect water quality or damage aquatic life. The limits on these contaminants are called Total Maximum Daily Load, or TMDLs.

How can we improve the health of our watersheds?

Every resident of Anne Arundel County can make a positive difference and do something to improve our watersheds. Check out our Habits That Help page to find out how!