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Dirty Waters / Nearly Two-Thirds of the River Miles That Virginia Monitors Are Polluted

Posted on: Friday, 3 March 2006, 12:00 CST

By REX SPINGSTON

Virginia's rivers look beautiful.

The James is full of ospreys, geese and paddlers. The Shenandoah glistens beside mountains and cliffs. Dragon Run east of Richmond looks wild and untouched.

All of that is wonderful, and deceiving.

Nearly two-thirds of the river miles Virginia monitors are polluted. Many of these rivers flow to the Chesapeake Bay and contribute to its problems.

People are speaking up, and political leaders are taking notice. The General Assembly, which convenes next month, plans to consider creating a steady source of money to clean the rivers and the bay.

The projected cost: $2.3 billion over several years.

Every other year, Virginia prepares a report that lists the "impaired," or polluted, stretches of rivers. People call it the dirty-water list.

The most recent report, which came out last year, says 6,948 river miles are polluted - 61 percent of the monitored waters.

Has that changed over the years?

Yes, drastically. State environmental officials proudly announced in 1996 that only 5 percent of Virginia's rivers were polluted. (That was later adjusted to 7 percent.) Then the figure went up to 15 percent in 1998 and 49 percent in 2002.

Officials at the state Department of Environmental Quality say the rivers haven't gotten that much worse in such a short time. They say experts are looking in more places and doing a better job of finding pollution. And the methodology of the reports has changed during the years.

But everyone agrees: The more we look, the more we find problems.

How can that be when the rivers look so good?

Cleveland's Cuyahoga River caught fire in 1969 because it was slick with oil. About the same time, the James was often green, stinky and nearly lifeless.

Tough federal clean-water laws in the 1970s forced sewage- treatment plants and factories to vastly improve the watery waste they pipe into rivers.

The rivers responded. They look and smell better. But for many, problems still lurk beneath the surface.

"That beauty is only skin deep," said Bill Street, director of the James River Association, an environmental group.

What's causing the trouble?

One of the biggest problems is fecal bacteria. It comes from the waste of livestock, wild animals and, in some places, insufficient sewage treatment. In many streams, the sources of bacteria are unknown.

The James in Richmond, which flows past beaches popular with swimmers and waders, is considered polluted with fecal bacteria. Sources include upriver cattle, unattended dogs and overabundant Canada geese, experts say.

Streams fouled by bacteria are deemed unfit for swimming. But life is complicated; the James in Richmond is actually fine for swimming on most days. You should wait a few days after rains, which can sweep waste into the water.

Other problems?

Soil erosion is also troublesome, particularly in the James. Soil flows into waters from cleared land, from riverbanks loosened by cattle and from other places. The sediment blocks light that river grasses need. It even affects anglers.

"It's pretty hard to catch a fish if the fish can't see your lure," Street said.

What about nutrients?

Many rivers suffer from an overabundance of such nutrients as nitrogen from animal waste, fertilizers and treated human waste. The nutrients fuel algae growth, which hurts streams and the bay.

While nutrients can enter streams anywhere, they cause the most trouble below our rivers' fall lines - those rocky places, full of rapids, where free-flowing streams become tidal. The James becomes tidal at about the Mayo (or 14th Street) Bridge.

In tidal waters, the nutrients slosh back and forth, staying around long enough to cause "blooms," or sudden growths, of algae.

Is there a trend here?

Yes. The state has the power to crack down on such places as factories and sewage-treatment plants, which need permits to discharge treated wastewater into rivers.

But most problems now are caused by waste that runs into rivers from large, open areas, such as farms, suburban yards and city streets. Stopping this pollution is harder because most programs to fight it are voluntary.

How about toxic chemicals?

Numerous rivers, including the James below Richmond, are polluted with toxic chemicals called PCBs. This pollution is probably decades old - the manufacturing of PCBs stopped in the U.S. in 1977.

PCBs are considered a probable cause of cancer. When the DEQ finds high levels of PCBs in fish, state health officials issue an advisory suggesting pregnant women and young children eat no fish from that stream. Others are told to limit the amount of fish they eat.

The DEQ investigates to make sure the chemicals are not leaking into rivers from such places as old landfills.

Is mercury a problem?

Yes, a growing one. The highly toxic metal has recently been found in unsafe levels in fish in streams including Dragon Run, an undeveloped, seemingly pristine stream on the Middle Peninsula.

Experts believe the mercury falls into the rivers as air pollution from coal-burning power plants, factories and other sources. Virginia is considering issuing regulations to reduce emissions of airborne mercury.

What's happening with the Shenandoah River?

Huge numbers of smallmouth bass and other fish died the past two springs, in the North Fork of the Shenandoah in 2004 and the South Fork in 2005.

Some people suspect ammonia from poultry waste, but no one knows for sure. Scientists plan to watch the river closely next spring.

The legendary river is also polluted by mercury and PCBs, dumped by industries decades ago.

"It's just very sad to have a river as sick as it is," said Jeff Kelble, a fishing guide who lives near Winchester. "It's Virginia's most impaired river."

What do our rivers need to get better?

A big problem is money. There is no steady source of cash for river and bay cleanups. Some years, the state's cleanup fund gets tens of millions of dollars, some years nothing. (Gov. Mark R. Warner is proposing more than $200 million in cleanup money for next year.)

Lawmakers next month will consider creating a fee, or setting aside part of an existing fee, to create a steady flow of cleanup money.

Why care about rivers?

People like looking at rivers. They like swimming and boating in them. Many rivers provide drinking water. Forests along rivers provide homes to birds and other animals.

DEQ officials periodically hold meetings around the state to hear people's feelings. DEQ Director Robert G. Burnley said, "The big concern that people have in this state environmentally is water quality."

Water pollution by the numbers

50,530: approximate miles of rivers and streams in Virginia (excludes tidal rivers, which are considered estuaries)

11,384: miles monitored for latest water-quality report

6,948: miles of "impaired," or polluted, rivers

4,436: miles of clean rivers

39,144: miles for which insufficient data exist to say the river is clean or dirty

Pollution over the years

Miles of rivers found to be polluted in Virginia:

1996: 2,016 miles, or 7 percent of those monitored

1998: 2,611 miles, or 15 percent

2002: 4,838 miles, or 49 percent

2004: 6,948 miles, or 61 percent

Note: Year-to-year comparisons are difficult because study methods changed. Some numbers have changed since original announcements because the DEQ periodically revises figures.

What's hurting our rivers?

Nearly 7,000 miles of rivers are polluted in Virginia. Here are selected problems and miles affected:

Fecal bacteria: ..... 4,886 miles

Acidity/alkalinity problems: .... 1,370 miles

Toxic PCBs: .... 421 miles

Temperature problems: .... 285 miles

Mercury: .... 275 miles

Lead: .... 7 miles

Arsenic: .... 3 miles

Note: Some rivers are tainted by more than one pollutant, so affected miles total more than 7,000.

You can help

Things you can do for Virginia's rivers:

Realize that river protection begins in your yard. Runoff from land is the largest source of pollution.

If you live beside a stream, restore or widen a shoreline buffer by planting native grasses, shrubs and trees. This will reduce erosion and pollution caused by runoff.

Landscape with rivers in mind. Use native plants that require less maintenance and help hold soil in place. Wildlife will appreciate that, too.

Create borders of mulch between your yard and the street or nearby stream to catch runoff.

Use permeable paving, such as brick and concrete lattice, so water can soak into the ground.

Arrange downspouts so rainwater does not flow into storm sewers or onto hard surfaces such as driveways. Use a rain barrel or water garden to catch the water.

Use no more fertilizer than you need. Get a state brochure on fertilizing at www.dcr.virginia.gov/sw/docs/lawntips.pdf or call 877- 42-WATER.

Clean up after your pet. Storm water can carry pet waste into streams.

Join a local watershed or conservation group.

Dispose of household chemicals properly.

Sources: Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, James River Association, Chesapeake Bay Foundation

On the Internet

Virginia's dirty-water report:

www.deq.virginia.gov/wqa/ir2004.html

Fact sheet on eating fish from state waters:

www.vdh.state.va.us/HHControl/fishingadvisories.asp

Interactive map for finding dirty rivers:

http://gisweb.deq.virginia.gov (from pull-down menu, go to "2004 Impaired Waters")

Contact staff writer Rex Springston at rspringston@timesdispatch.com or (804) 649-6453.

ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO

Source: Richmond Times - Dispatch

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