How might the increase in human population have an impact on the Chesapeake Bay Watershed?

More people living near the watershed will draw more water out of it for farming, landscaping, and human combustion, leaving less fresh water for the streams, rivers, wildlife, and groundwater.

In addition to waste water, pesticide runoff, oil, tire rubber, salt, deicers, and garbage, people also contribute to pollution.

Since brackish bays, like Chesapeake Bay, are made up of both fresh and salt water, an increase in human population will cause the amount of salt in the bay to rise as the amount of fresh water decreases, altering the ecology of the bay and making it harder for some species to adapt to the rising salt concentration. All of the waste will flow into the bay, leaving less fresh water to dilute the waste.

An increase in the human population along the watershed will put more strain on the watershed's ecosystem, and it's possible that this stress will lead to the environment's ecological collapse in the bay's watershed.

The increase in human population can lead to elevated nutrient runoff, pollution, habitat loss, and increased water demand, negatively affecting the Chesapeake Bay Watershed's ecosystem health.