November 2007
News
- More than 600 students attend ground water festivals
- Symposium shines spotlight on Shenandoah Valley science
- Southwest collects more than 4,000 pounds of trash
- West Central team pulls trash from Peters Creek
- Register for the 2007 coastal workshop
- Tidewater addresses sanitary sewer overflows in Hampton Roads
Community Involvement Highlight
News
More than 600 students attend ground water festivals
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| Students at Camp Kekoka on the Northern Neck participate in a lesson on water conservation. |
In October the DEQ Office of Ground Water Protection and the Southwest Regional Office of Solid Waste supported local educational festivals that aim to improve students’ understanding of ground water resources. The festivals are organized and run by local volunteers for area sixth graders and their teachers. The festivals generally have six to 10 hands-on educational stations for the students, and the educational message at each station is developed with select Virginia Standards of Learning in mind. Five Ground Water Festivals were held in Northumberland, Lancaster, Buchanan and Dickenson counties. Participants included 675 students and their teachers. Local support was provided by Vincent Maiden and Linda Stull in the Southwest Regional Office and dozens of government agencies and environmental and community groups.
Symposium shines spotlight on Shenandoah Valley science
DEQ staff members participated in the “Shenandoah Valley Natural Systems Science Symposium” sponsored by the Northern Shenandoah Valley Regional Commission, U.S. Geological Survey, ShenAir and others from the Valley Science Collaborative on Oct. 15 and 16 at Shenandoah University. The symposium brought together more than 80 researchers and scientists from Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia to share recent studies relevant to the Shenandoah Valley. Topics ranged from ground water and water quality to citizen action and results. Seven panel discussions were presented in an effort to address the current environmental situation and identify gaps in the research for further study. Don Kain from the Valley Regional Office presented recent information on spring fish kills in the Valley. Scott Kudlas from the DEQ central office presented information about the Water Supply Planning Program, and Robert Burgholzer from central office demonstrated a new water supply modeling program. Angela Neilan, DEQ’s community involvement specialist, and Adrienne Averett, a water supply planner from the South Central Regional Office, co-facilitated the group as they developed the new “Science Plan for the Valley” based on research questions posed to the participants. Federal and state agencies, universities and non-profit organizations made research recommendations, including more data sharing among organizations and the use of comprehensive research designs that link air, water and land issues in the Valley. Panel discussions were open to participants in real time via a Wiki-based web page, which will include a report on the meeting. An initial science plan is expected to be completed in December.
Southwest collects more than 4,000 pounds of trash
More than 20 people representing the Southwest Regional Office picked up about 4,500 pounds of trash and debris at different locations near Abingdon over the course of six days in September. Items collected included 64 tires, a decorated Christmas tree, baby diapers and drink bottles. Participants included Linda Stull, Allen Newman, Alice Warren, Aleia Warren, Chad Quesenberry, Stephan Martin, Richard Shortridge, Ed Cumbow, Chip Sparks, Vince Maiden, Teresa Frazier, Ronnie Frazier, Dan Manweiler, Lynn Manweiler, Lucas Manweiler, Rachel Manweiler, Nathan Evans, Judy Osborne, Reba Fleenor, Pete Smith and Della Smith.
West Central team pulls trash from Peters Creek
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George Devlin from the West Central Regional Office works to remove a grocery cart found in Peters Creek and a bag full of trash. |
A group of West Central Office employees participated along with more than 800 other volunteers in the Roanoke Fall Waterways Cleanup on Oct. 6. The DEQ group joined the Upper Roanoke River Roundtable volunteers to clean up litter in Peters Creek. The team of 15 people removed 25 bags of trash and numerous other items, including bikes, car bumpers, a boogie board and mattresses. The DEQ team included Greg Anderson, Jason Hill, Mary Dail, Pam Derk, Billy Bishop, Holly Williams, Drew Miller, George Devlin and friends and family. In the afternoon, the volunteers were treated to live music and free food from the Roanoke Natural Food Co-op and a variety of informational booths. The DEQ team operated a macroinvertebrate demonstration tub, posted water quality data from the river, demonstrated water quality monitoring equipment and distributed water quality information.
Register for the 2007 coastal workshop
Please join the Virginia Coastal Zone Management Program on Dec. 6 and 7 at the Portsmouth Renaissance Hotel for a discussion on the effects of climate change and population growth on Virginia’s coastal zone and possible coastal zone management solutions. Please register by Friday, Nov. 16. The workshop agenda and registration are available online. Registration for both days is $100. DEQ employees should complete the registration form and attach it to a travel authorization with the cost code to be charged for the registration fee. Please contact Virginia Witmer for additional information.
Tidewater addresses sanitary sewer overflows in Hampton Roads
Virginia reached an agreement with the Hampton Roads Sanitation District and local governments on sewage system improvements in September. The Tidewater Regional Office and the Division of Enforcement in the DEQ central office worked for two years with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Hampton Roads Sanitation District and 13 municipalities that transmit wastewater to the system to develop a comprehensive plan to resolve issues associated with sanitary sewer overflows. The plan is described in a consent order that was approved by the State Water Control Board at its meeting on Sept. 25. This regional approach required the sanitation district and the municipalities to invest significant time and effort in the development of the order. In general, the order enables the completion of a regional system evaluation that includes flow, pressure, and rainfall monitoring, and sanitary sewer evaluation studies in identified sewer basins. To address adequate capacity to collect, convey, and treat peak flows in the regional sanitary sewer system during wet weather, a regional wet weather management plan will be developed and implemented to define improvements in the regional system necessary to meet wastewater transmission and treatment needs to 2030. The order also includes a memorandum of agreement between the sanitation district and the municipalities. A copy of the order and the attachments are available on the DEQ website.
Community Involvement Highlight
Volunteer water monitors collaborate in Winchester
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DEQ staff members participate in a conference on citizen water quality monitoring at Shenandoah University. |
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and DEQ co-sponsored a conference on citizen water quality monitoring at Shenandoah University in Winchester on Oct. 12 and 13. More than 120 monitors and staff met for two days to discuss monitoring priorities, learn new monitoring methods and explore aspects of volunteer stewardship. DEQ Director David Paylor addressed the group at lunch answering questions about the agency budget cuts and effects on monitoring programs, and emphasizing the importance of volunteer monitoring. Session topics and field trips included the following: introduction to Geographic Information Systems, making rain barrels, relating water quality to track total maximum daily load performance, and how to interpret stream data. Finally, the DEQ staff facilitated the group as participants looked at their accomplishments and planned for the future. Copies of presentations given at the conference and related materials are available on the DEQ website. James Beckley, Stuart Torbeck and Darryl Glover from the central office helped lead and organize the event.