Using Geo-Information Systems in Assessing Water Quality in the Mid-Atlantic Region Agricultural Watershed of Maryland

The applications of agricultural fertilizers, manure and pesticides continue to degrade the quality of streams in different areas of the country including the mid-Atlantic region of Maryland, USA. This paper adopts geo-information systems based method and primary data to assess the status of water quality. Emphasis is on the issues, factors, current efforts and a case study to demonstrate the trend and future line of actions. The results point to a decline in water quality and other environmental resources in the study area. Land use practices threatening the quality of agricultural watersheds were also spatially detected in the area using Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Aside from the current efforts of the state agencies anchored in management, conservation and monitoring of impaired water bodies. The paper offered some recommendations and framework for dealing with the problems. These lines of action ranged from the need to strengthen current policy on land use to the development of regional agro geo-info systems.