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That's music to the ears of officials with state and federal environmental agencies who, as part of a cleanup of the Chesapeake Bay, have recently vowed to reduce farm runoff from Lancaster County that winds up in the Susquehanna River.
The Susquehanna provides more than half the bay's fresh water and is the largest source of harmful nutrients, which come from agriculture, sewage plants and lawn fertilizers, along with other sources.
The report, an examination of the amount of nitrogen, phosphorus and suspended soil flowing down the Conestoga and Susquehanna rivers in 2008, was released Monday by the Susquehanna River Basin Commission.
When adjusted for water flows and estimated crop yields, the volume of nutrients and soil in the rivers is below long-term averages.
"The commission's findings do help validate the fact that the commonwealth's aggressive nutrient and sediment reduction efforts over the years are working, and supporting bay restoration efforts," said John Hines, deputy secretary for water management for the state Department of Environmental Protection.
Since 1985, six monitoring stations have been recording the amount of nutrients and sediment in the rivers.
The stations are located: along the Conestoga River near Conestoga; on the main stem of the Susquehanna at Marietta, Towanda and Danville; on the West Branch at Lewisburg; and on the Juniata River at Newport.
Total nitrogen, total phosphorus and suspended sediment, when adjusted for flow, were lower in 2008 at all the sites with the exception of Towanda, where there was a slight increase.
The lower volumes reflect "the effects of nutrient-reduction activities and other actions taking place in the watershed," according to the report.
Even though the concentrations of nutrients and suspended soil were down compared to other years, the Conestoga still has the highest volume of nutrients and soil among the six monitoring locations.
The report comes on the heels of several recent events that blame excess nutrients for polluting the rivers.
Last Thursday, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission voted to press state and federal environmental agencies to accelerate efforts to find out why the Susquehanna River is "increasingly impaired" and killing off the river's famed smallmouth bass.
At least one commissioner, Bob Bachman of Denver, thinks excess nutrients in the river is the chief culprit.
And the federal Environmental Protection Agency has begun looking at farming practices in small watersheds in Lancaster County because of unacceptable amounts of manure found in waterways.
