Aerators In Chesapeake Bay Could Eliminate Dead Zones, Local Environmental Consultant Says
COLUMBIA, Md. (WJZ) — What if the dead zones that plague the Chesapeake Bay could be eliminated?
One local man thinks it could be done with a $2 million pilot program to put aerators in the bay.
Dan Sheer, founder of Hydrologics drives his boat up Rock Creek where aerators have been used since 1988. It's a solution he thinks could help get rid of the dead zones in the Chesapeake Bay.
"They pump air of concentrated oxygen into the bottom of the bay where it dissolves into the water from the bubbles," Sheer said.
He said dead zones are parts of the bay without oxygen, produced when algae blooms, fed by excessive nutrients and consume the dissolved oxygen that fish, crabs and shellfish need to live.
His idea is to lay 15 pipes across the deepest part of the Chesapeake at five mile intervals from Maryland bay to the Potomac River with a series of openings in them to release streams of tiny air bubbles.
"So the bubbles get smaller the oxygen goes into the water and thus restores the oxygen in the water so that other things can live at the bottom,"
For years, the Conowingo Dam has blocked sediment from flowing downstream into the bay, but experts said heavy rainfall is pushing it through.
"The dam is now full, so now, when you have large rain events, material is scored from behind the dam, so we're getting more nutrients and sediment come into the bay," said Beth McGee with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
Which, as a result, could increase in fish kills.
Sheer said he thinks his solution could work.
"I believe it would lead to a much better environment on the bottom, more organisms for critters we care about like crabs, oysters," Sheer said.
Sheer said so far he has initial results from models that show positive results. He said his next step would be to test out a $2 million pilot program and actually set up some aerators in the bay.