The Chesapeake Bay and its contributing tributaries are in trouble. The Bay, a national treasure and regional economic resource, suffers from severely degraded water quality, diminished fisheries resources, and increased pollution inputs from a growing population. Maryland often leads the region in terms of progressive reforms to improve the health and vitality of the Bay and its contributing tributaries. The Clean Water Healthy Families campaign is designed to put Maryland's waterways and the Chesapeake Bay itself onto a path of steady improvements in water quality and quality of life for those who live, recreate, and work on and near the Chesapeake. Focused on three legislative initiatives to be undertaken during the regular General Assembly Session of 2012, successful outcomes would ensure new policies, regulations, and revenues for implementing critical pollution reductions well into the future and dramatically improve water quality for years to come.

SB 236, SB 240, and SB 614: Fishable and Swimmable Waters by 2025
HB 445, HB 446, and HB 987: Fishable and Swimmable Waters by 2025  

1. Provide sufficient funding to ensure major wastewater treatment plants are upgraded on schedule;
2. Ensure ongoing dedicated funding source for local governments to address stormwater treatment needs and other clean water initiatives;
3. Protect water quality by reducing sprawling development; and
4. Require a treatment standard for all waste water treatment systems to meet Maryland's water quality goals (including the WIP and TMDL).

 CWHF Fact Sheet BRF- Stormwater

  CWHF Fact Sheet Growth - Septics

 CWHF Fact Sheet one-pager