Spotlight on water quality improvements in DEQ’s Valley Region
In DEQ’s Valley Region, the majority of water quality impairments and TMDLs are for bacteria. A recent analysis of bacteria water quality data showed that water quality is improving in the Valley. DEQ staff compared the rates of violation of the fecal coliform standard in streams during the 1995 – 1999 period to the violation rates in those same streams during 2000 – 2004. Using only streams that had 12 or more data points during each time period, there were a total of 82 VRO streams that this comparison could be conducted on.
Of those streams, 58 (or 70%) had improvements (i.e., lower fecal coliform violation rates in 2000-2005 than in 1995-2000). Only 23 streams (28%) had degraded. The improvements at individual streams were also rather large (as high as 52% decrease in violation rate), while the degradation in individual streams was small (only as high as 9.9% increase in violation rate). There were 28 streams with improvements larger than 10%, and 10 streams with improvements larger than 20%.
Furthermore, 10 of the top 13 streams with the largest improvements have all been the focus of TMDL activities. Those streams include: Mill Creek (Page Co.), Christians Creek, Mossy Creek, Dry River, Moores Creek, Muddy Creek (mile 0.4), Cooks Creek, Muddy Creek (mile 5.81), Linville Creek, and Mill Creek (Rockingham Co.). This is good news for the Valley, and exciting progress which suggests that the interest, awareness, and implementation that a TMDL brings are leading to measurable improvements in water quality.
Stream now meeting standards:
Moores Creek – Watershed ID: VAV-H28R, Albemarle/Charlottesville. Initial listing -1998.
- Fact sheet
- TMDL report
- Implementation Plan
- Monitoring station ID 2-MSC000.60.
- Fecal Coliform Bacteria violation rate 1995 – 1999: 38.1%
- Fecal Coliform Bacteria violation rate 2000 – 2004: 10%
- Percent Improvement: 28.1%
- Water Quality Improvement Chart
Streams where momentum generated from the TMDL process has had a positive effect on water quality:
(water quality improvements even though the bacteria water quality standard is not yet being met)
Muddy Creek (mile 0.4, 5.81) – Watershed ID: VAV-B22R, Rockingham, Initial listing -1996.
- Fact sheet
- TMDL report
- Implementation Plan
- Monitoring station ID 1BMDD000.40
- Fecal Coliform Bacteria violation rate 1995 – 1999: 87.30%
- Fecal Coliform Bacteria violation rate 2000 – 2004: 63.16%
- Percent Improvement: 24.14%
- Water Quality Improvement Chart
- Monitoring station ID 1BMDD005.81
- Fecal Coliform Bacteria violation rate 1995 – 1999: 80.33%
- Fecal Coliform Bacteria violation rate 2000 – 2004: 60.98%
- Percent Improvement: 19.35%
- Water Quality Improvement Chart
Dry River – Watershed ID: VAV-B21R, Rockingham, Initial listing -2002.
- Fact sheet
- TMDL report
- Implementation Plan
- Monitoring station ID 1BDUR000.02
- Fecal Coliform Bacteria violation rate 1995 – 1999: 50%
- Fecal Coliform Bacteria violation rate 2000 – 2004: 21.43%
- Percent Improvement: 28.57
- Water Quality Improvement Chart
Mill Creek – Watershed ID: VAV-B29R, Rockingham, Initial listing -1996.
- Fact sheet
- TMDL report
- Implementation Plan
- Monitoring station ID 1BMIC001.00
- Fecal Coliform Bacteria violation rate 1995 – 1999: 77.78%
- Fecal Coliform Bacteria violation rate 2000 – 2004: 58.97%
- Percent Improvement: 18.80%
- Water Quality Improvement Chart
Mill Creek – Watershed ID: VAV-B38R, Page Co. Initial listing -1998, FC.
- Fact sheet
- TMDL report
- Monitoring station ID 1BMLC000.40
- Fecal Coliform Bacteria violation rate 1995 – 1999: 66.67%
- Fecal Coliform Bacteria violation rate 2000 – 2004: 14.63%
- Percent Improvement: 52.03%
- Water Quality Improvement Chart
Christians Creek – Watershed ID: VAV-B14R. Initial listing - 1996. Augusta County . Impairment – fecal coliform.
- Fact sheet
- TMDL report
- Monitoring station ID 1BCST012.32
- Fecal Coliform Bacteria violation rate 1995 – 1999: 55.93%
- Fecal Coliform Bacteria violation rate 2000 – 2004: 12.50%
- Percent Improvement: 43.43
- Water Quality Improvement Chart
Mossy Creek – Watershed ID: VAV-B19R, Augusta/Rockingham. FC. Initial listing -1996.
- Fact sheet
- TMDL report
- Monitoring station ID 1BMSS001.35
- Fecal Coliform Bacteria violation rate 1995 – 1999: 70.18%
- Fecal Coliform Bacteria violation rate 2000 – 2004: 31.43 %
- Percent Improvement: 38.75%
- Water Quality Improvement Chart
Cooks Creek – Watershed ID: VAV-B25R, Harrisonburg/Rockingham, Initial listing -1996.
- Fact sheet
- TMDL report
- Monitoring station ID 1BCKS003.10
- Fecal Coliform Bacteria violation rate 1995 – 1999: 95.08%
- Fecal Coliform Bacteria violation rate 2000 – 2004: 72.97%
- Percent Improvement: 22.11&
- Water Quality Improvement Chart
Linville Creek – Watershed ID: VAV-B46R, Initial listing -1996. Rockingham,
- Fact sheet
- TMDL report
- Monitoring station ID 1BLNV001.22
- Fecal Coliform Bacteria violation rate 1995 – 1999: 55.74%
- Fecal Coliform Bacteria violation rate 2000 – 2004: 36.59%
- Percent Improvement: 19.15
- Water Quality Improvement Chart
For more information regarding valley region TMDL efforts, please contact the DEQ valley regional office staff members listed below:
Robert N. Brent, Ph.D.
Regional TMDL Coordinator
Phone: (540) 574-7848
Fax:(540) 574-7844
Tara Sieber
TMDL Specialist
Phone: (540) 574-7870
Fax: (540) 574-7878