6. Isle of Wight Bay - The Coastal Bays Program

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shifting sandsConclusionsThe ecosystem healthof Isle of Wight Bay is impactedIsle of Wight Bay ranked as impactedfor both estuarine and watershed health.Water quality was better in the well-flushedopen bay than in the tributaries, and goodscores for bay benthic communities andsediment quality were balanced by poorresults for brown tide, hard clams, seagrass,and stream benthic communities. Thisresulted in Isle of Wight Bay’s overallecosystem health ranking as fourth of theCoastal Bays. For more information, seeChapter 2—Ecosystem Health Assessment.Isle of Wight Bay issuesAlthough the following issues arepresented here as pertaining to Isle ofWight Bay, they also apply to other CoastalBays subwatersheds.How healthy is Isle of Wight Bay?1.0HEALTHY6.6IMPACTED0.42Dead-end canalscan create ecological problemsThere are at least 111 canals adjacent to theCoastal Bays, 59 of which are in Isle ofWight Bay. Most of these canals were builtbetween 1960 and 1980 by developmentprojects that dug the canals to createresidential waterfront lots. Dead-endcanals are problematic for several reasons.They usually have only one opening. Mostwere dug through wetlands with the3.3DEGRADED0.0Jane ThomasAerial view of Isle of Wight Bay, with Ocean City and the inlet in the background.102
Chapter 6 • isle of wight bayIsle of Wight Bay & watershed factsWatershed area (km2) 51.8Average bay depth (m) 1.22Surface area of bay (km2) 21.1Watershed area : surface area 2.45Bay water volume (m3 × 106) 22.85Watershed area : water volume 2.27Flushing rate (days) 9.45Population 18,570Land use in Isle of Wight Bay subwatershedResidential26.0%Wetlands5.2%Forest37.0%Agriculture18.5%Beaches& bareground
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6. Isle of Wight Bay - The Coastal Bays Program

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