Impaired streams study final results from VA DEQ March 22, 2007

The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality reported at Public Meeting
on March 22, 2007 the results of the study they have been conducting of the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for 16 impaired stream segments in the Upper Rappahannock River watersheds. Three of the 16 impaired segments are in Rappahannock County. These include segments of the Rush, Hughes, and Rappahannock Rivers. These segments are impaired due to high levels of e. coli bacteria, which means the waters are not safe for human contact activities such as swimming. According to the study, remediating these conditions will require removal of 99 percent of livestock from streams, plus several other kinds of reductions in bacterial pollution. Complete information about the study and its results are available at
http://www.rrregion.org/rappbasin.html.

The next phase will be development of a TMDL Implementation Plan. However, resources to support these plans are very limited and it appears that a proactive effort on the part of our county government with the VA DCR would enable us to obtain the funds needed for the planning and implementation.