May 2007
News
- Parking lot to pave way for public education, less runoff
- Trash, bugs part of Earth Day celebration
- Stolen safe, tires, more trash removed from river
- Tidewater parties for the planet
- Impaired waters progress report available
Program of the Month
News
Parking lot to pave way for public education, less runoff
A project worth $25,000 could reduce contamination from storm water runoff and serve as a public education tool in the Roanoke area. The project will be funded as part of a penalty paid by Advanced Metal Finishing of Roanoke for knowingly discharging pollutants in violation of the U.S. Clean Water Act.
The Upper Roanoke River Roundtable and the Western Virginia Water Authority will work together to develop practices to control storm water at sites owned by the water authority in the Roanoke area. The groups are considering projects at the Carvins Cove parking lot and the Roanoke Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant office building. For each project, storm water runoff and associated pollution from a parking lot would be reduced by installing porous pavement, rain barrels or a bio-filter constructed of a mixture of special soils among other methods. Signs would explain the systems, providing an excellent location to educate the public about storm water runoff and its effect on the environment.
West Central Regional Office staff members Beth Lohman, Jason Hill and Greg Anderson worked with a local attorney, the U. S. Attorney’s Office, the water authority and the roundtable to negotiate the project, called a supplemental environmental project, as part of the company’s penalty.
Trash, bugs part of Earth Day celebration
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| South Central volunteers stand with trash collected from Blackwater Creek. |
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| DEQ biologist Kelly Wills talks to members of the public about water quality. |
South Central Regional Office volunteers helped remove approximately a half-ton of trash and tires on April 20 from Blackwater Creek, a large urban stream in Lynchburg bordered by hiking trails, bike paths and a nature preserve. Trail users often complained about the amount of trash visible in Blackwater Creek, so in 2004 South Central adopted a 2.8 mile section of the creek and now holds an annual cleanup event for Earth Day. Deeper sections of the stream were cleaned by Tom Berkeley and Mike Shaver in a canoe and by Alan Ball in his kayak. Other volunteers were Joey Daniel and son Michael, James Puckett, Leah Revelle, Stephanie Bowman, Rebecca Cobb, Amanda Gray, Allen Armistead, Kelly Wills, Peggy Barbour, Doug Foran, Todd Nash and Mike Sexton.
Biologists Mike Shaver and Kelly Wills also participated in two other Earth Day events. On April 12 Fort Pickett held an annual Army Earth Day celebration, where Mike and Kelly manned a booth featuring live insects and other organisms that live on the bottoms of streams, called aquatic macroinvertebrates. The bugs were a big hit with both the kids and the adults, and the event was very well attended. On April 21 Camp Kum-Ba-Yah in Lynchburg held an annual Earth Day event and invited Mike and Kelly to participate. Once again, live aquatic macroinvertebrates were displayed to the amazement of the kids that attended. Some large hellgrammites and some mysterious horsehair worms were among the critters on display.
Stolen safe, tires, more trash removed from river
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| Brandon Kiracofe and Trevor Wallace haul a pipe, weighing 200 pounds and measuring 20 feet in length, on their canoe. The pipe was pulled from the river during the cleanup. |
Volunteers from the Valley Regional Office participated in an Adopt-A-Stream cleanup of a four-mile section of the North River in May. Volunteers removed about 2,000 pounds of trash from the river. Included in the total amount were 32 bags of trash, 14 tires, a damaged research duck trap, a flattened johnboat, one stolen safe with a passport and other important documents, 34 golf balls, steel rods and pipes, a steel staircase, a TV and a rubber duck. Volunteers included Eric Aschenbach, Sara Bannister, Sara Bottenfield, Greg Clark, Kristen Donnelly, David Firley, David Fitt, Dave Forrer, Rob Greenlaw, Paul Hanson, Dan Juraschek, Kevin Kennedy, Brandon Kiracofe, Kate Lago, Tom Mizell, Todd Pitsenberger, Becky Puffenbarger, Jared Purnhagen, Tara Sieber, Nicole Stewart, Dalayna Tillman, Billy VanWart and Trevor Wallace.
Tidewater parties for the planet
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| Members of the public visit the DEQ booth at the Virginia Zoo. |
The Earth Day celebration at the Virginia Zoo in Norfolk was part of a national event hosted by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. The event, called Party for the Planet, was used to educate and encourage conservation in the community. The Tidewater Regional Office participated with environmental displays, including a wetland diorama, a landfill model, an interactive underground storage tank diagram, a litter pizza and an anti-litter display. Many people came by to look at the displays and talk with the volunteers. Participating staff members were Rachel Borum, Rebecca Gehring, Michelle Hollis, Jennifer Howell, Kelly Ryan, Robin Schuhmann, Laura Shumaker and Jenna Sells.
Impaired waters progress report available
The 2000-2006 Total Maximum Daily Load Progress Report and booklet are available on the web at www.deq.virginia.gov/tmdl. The booklet provides an overview of information provided in the report and details Virginia’s progress in the three phases of the TMDL process from 2000 – 2006. The TMDL program works to improve water quality in streams that are impaired or do not meet water quality standards. The report and booklet also highlight water quality improvements and challenges as Virginia moves forward with TMDL development and implementation.
Program of the Month
Nutrient trading
Just like people, plants and animals that live in rivers, lakes and bays need nutrients to grow. However, too many nutrients can be harmful.
The Chesapeake Bay contains excess nutrients, making it and portions of its tidal rivers “impaired” or unhealthy. This means that there are fewer fish, crabs and healthy habitats to support Virginia’s fishing and tourism industries, damaging a way of life for many people.