Charlottesville Office of Surface Water Investigation

This DEQ program has been operating for 75 years, making it the "oldest" program in the agency. The office has worked cooperatively with the U.S. Geological Survey since 1925 to collect and publish annual surface water flow data and ground water level data. The office is responsible for the operation and maintenance of 70 surface water-gauging stations and more than 200 wells. During droughts and floods, the staff may be found wading rivers to measure low flow events or standing on a crane making high-flow measurements from bridges.

In support of the VPDES permit program, the office conducts low-flow measurements upstream of VPDES discharges to ungauged streams and is providing flow measurements associated with the TMDL monitoring conducted by DEQ. The office is equipped to conduct special dye studies to define mixing zones or to determine time of travel for VPDES permits. Stream flow data also are vital to water supply planning programs. The office is located in the Virginia Department of Forestry Building in Charlottesville.