RappFLOW Reports and Publications

Watershed Protection Strategies
A Workshop Held September 30, 2004, at Belle Meade

The questions addressed in this workshop included the following:

• What are the key issues regarding watershed protection and conservation in Rappahannock County, and how urgent are these issues?
• To what extent are citizens, landowners, and leaders of Rappahannock County aware of and ready to address these issues? Who are the stakeholders?
• What should be the next steps in addressing watershed management and protection in Rappahannock County?
• What resources are available to carry out these steps?

Background

• The state is writing strategies for water quality improvements for all tributaries to the Chesapeake bay. Rappahannock River was done in 1999, is being revised and will be coming out soon with goals/reductions in nutrients and sediments needed in Rappahannock River and its tributaries that will meet the commitments to the Chesapeake 2000 Agreement.
• DEQ is developing TMDL’s (Total Maximum Daily Load) for streams that are impaired. Five segments of streams are”impaired” in Rappahannock County. More information on which stream segments can be found on DEQ’s wesbite: www.deq.virginia.gov
  Cause: fecal coliform contamination
  The TMDL (enforcement?) for the streams is planned to take place in 2010 or later (2016) because of the numbers of impaired streams needing TMDLs.
• By 2007 there are going to be N & P water quality standards for TMDL in this part of VA.
• DCR is involved in TMDL’s implementation. Watershed management planning is a tool that can be used to implement tributary strategies locally, as well as TMDLs. Watershed mgmt is comprehensive planning based on community participation.
• CSWCD is involved in tributary strategy process. Reductions required by localities as a means to accomplish the reductions: nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment are the 3 pollutants addressed.
• If goals aren’t met on voluntary basis, TMDL planning could be required for the entire bay watershed.
• Downstream demand for quantity and quality of water from the headwaters. We in Rappahannock County will be under pressure in the future to improve the water quantity and quality leaving the county to provide for other localities.
• The potential exists in this county’s watersheds to be contributors to nutrient load in the rivers (because of the large number of very small streams in which the aggregate ratio of surface to water volume is much larger than in downstream rivers).

Major Issues:

• Increasing fragmentation of land holdings, land cover and land use due to development, gentrification, and shifts in agricultural economics and practices.
• Need for shift in perspective in agriculture: to have a sustainable activity, must take into account all by-products including pollution. You can mitigate the impacts of pollution in agriculture and still have a profit.
• Need more awareness and education regarding BMP cost sharing programs such as CREP.
• Citizen lack of awareness/understanding of watershed and water quality issues. “People see our streams as clean and plentiful.”
• Lack of detailed and systematic data on which to base county-wide priorities and decisionmaking.
• Need for stronger and more detailed implementation of the policies and principles of the Rappahannock County Comprehensive Plan and enforcement of existing ordinances.

Resources available to assist:

• Citizen-driven, independent organizations such as RappFLOW representing wide range of stakeholders, and interested, knowledgeable citizens and volunteers.
  • DCR, DEQ, S&WCD, PD9/RRRC; County government
• PD9/RRRC is data repository and has good environmental data and technical assistance to member jurisdictions.
• Rappahannock County Comprehensive Plan provides many useful principles and policies to build upon.
• VA DCR has published a new Local Watershed Management Planning in Virginia: A Community Water Quality Approach. This handbook could be used to guide a local watershed planning process.

Potential strategies or actions for citizen-based initiatives
(with support of funding and technical assistance from relevant agencies):

• Create citizen-based task force to develop white paper for use by planning commission in strengthening comprehensive plan and ordinances with respect to watershed management.
• Initiate projects to identify, collect, organize, and analyze data needed for public policy, education, and decisionmaking.
• Assist the county in preparing for potential threats or opportunities related to downstream demand and water use by conducting research on the subject and identifying implications for Rappahannock County’s watershed management.
• Strengthen efforts to take advantage of existing cost-sharing funds for implementing BMP’s in agriculture and forestry, and in other ways strengthen efforts to support sustainable agriculture and forestry in Rappahannock County.
• Take leadership in conducting watershed management planning process involving public participation and relevant agencies over the next five years.
  

Workshop Report Summary  ::  Photos  ::  Participants