March 17, 2010
On Tuesday night I attended a meeting of the Hopewell Community Industrial Panel held at the Hopewell Regional Wastewater Treatment Facility (HRWTF). Before the meeting, we were taken on a tour of the facilities’ new experimental treatment system to remove nitrogen from the treated water before it is released into the James River. The Hopewell plant, like others around the Commonwealth, is faced with reducing its nitrogen load, to meet new tougher requirements for improving water conditions in the river and the Chesapeake Bay. I was really impressed with what I saw.
HRWTF ‘s experimental system uses a series of rotating wheels turning in a pool of water. The wheels are turned by a bubble system powered by a low horsepower motor. Algae naturally forms on the ridged wheels and takes nitrogen out of the water as it grows. It then sloughs off the wheels and collects at the bottom of the pools. It is collected, centrifuged and dried. The dry algal product can then be turned into biofuel, feed supplements, etc., turning a problem for the river into a potentially profitable enterprise. Many times the City of Hopewell gets a bad rap because of its industrial base and the sins of the past, such as Kepone, but the effort of our industries and the HRWTF to look for new and better ways to treat our wastewater and improve water quality in the James is admirable. We look forward to seeing how this experiment plays out.

On Tuesday I took the boat from JordanPoint down to Newport News and then on to Portsmouth. I wanted to check the waterfront and take a look at Craney Island. I had not been down by water since before Christmas. It never ceases to amaze me how much activity takes place in that area--shipbuilding, ship repair, coal loading, container ships, dredge material storage, military operations, commercial fishing and so on. The Hampton Roads area could really use a Keeper of its own.

The weather Tuesday was extraordinary! Cool in the morning but warmed up nicely during the day and best of all, no wind! This was one of the few trips I have made recently where the water was glassy calm. It's nice not to get beat up when making those long runs. It is about a three hour run to the Monitor-Merrimac Bridge Tunnel from Jordan Point. Rough water can make for tough going in a small boat like mine.

On the way down I stopped at Kingsmill to meet a friend and was happy to spot a pair of ospreys. These were the first I have seen this year. I also saw two large flocks of swans heading north. This made me realize that spring is just around the corner. Don't know about you, but I'm ready!

A Greener Valentine’s Day

Red may be the traditional color, but this year, why not go “green” for Valentine’s Day! Here are a few ways to re-think the holiday for greener, more environmentally-friendly gift giving. The James River and the earth will love you for it:

Gold -
Mining gold is a dirty process. Open pit mining (the method most used in the U.S.) produces 8 to 10 times the amount of waste rubble as an underground mine. Only a small percentage of the rock removed actually contains gold. The gold must be extracted in a process that often includes the use of cyanide. The cyanide is then held in retainer ponds for reuse. These toxins can leach into ground water or end up in streams and lakes. In addition, mercury emissions from the mining of gold is a major source of air pollution in several states in the western U.S.

Diamonds -
Anyone who has seen the movie, “Blood Diamond,” knows the personal toll at which this treasured gem is mined. While diamonds are mined in various ways, most mining removes large quantities of soil and uses water for extraction. In Africa, where water is a scarce resource, this only makes a serious situation worse. When purchasing a diamond, make sure it comes from an industry source that is working to ensure ethical practices for people and the environment.

Roses-
How far have your flowers traveled? Many of the roses found in U.S. florists have been grown in East Africa or South America. That’s a lot of air miles and a big carbon footprint for a flower that only lasts a few days. A houseplant may not be as romantic as a rose, but it can have added benefits to the environment. If you give a potted hydrangea, a colorful pepper plant, or a rosemary shrub, you can plant it in the garden this spring.

Cards –
According to the Waterkeeper Alliance, the paper industry is the largest consumer of water and the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the U.S. When buying Valentines, look for cards made from recycled paper or make your own cards using recycled items in your home. Better yet, send an e-Valentine!

Chocolate-
It’s everyone’s last-minute go-to gift idea. Read the label and look for chocolate that is organic and supports Fair Trade and environmentally responsible production. This means the cocoa used in the making of the chocolate was grown in a manner that empowers the grower (usually a small, independent farmer), provides a fair wage, prevents the exploitation of children, and produces cocoa in a manner that is environmentally safe and sustainable. A sweet deal all the way around!

Nothing says “I love the James River and my local environment” better than being a JRA member. Help protect your favorite romantic spot on the river. Give your Valentine a gift membership in the James River Association! Go to http://www.jamesriverassociation.org/ to make a gift membership.

Horrible Contrast

By Dave Sligh


This photo was taken last week during the high waters. The stream entering the view from the left is called Buck Island Creek and flows into the Rivanna River in southern Albemarle County. The water in Buck Island Creek is dark brown, as we would expect with high flows and bottom sediments being carried downstream. The tributary to the right is named Slate Quarry Creek and presents an amazing contrast in stream quality. Clearly, large amounts of clay are being washed from the watershed that feeds Slate Quarry Creek - a sure sign that significant land disturbance has been occurring upstream.

I want to thank Patrick Nugent for capturing this great view. Patrick is an environmental studies student at Randolph-Macon College and he interned with me during January. He performed stream habitat assessments for about a dozen streams and helped with mapping and data collection for the James River Basin.


The aerial photograph below, copied from Google Earth, shows the outline of the small watershed for Slate Quarry Creek and some of the land features. My next move is to spend time in this watershed to discover the source(s) of this damaging erosion and stream pollution. I'll let you know what I find, in a later blog.

Flooding Impacts

By Dave Sligh


The James was overflowing its banks in a number of places yesterday and many tributaries were roaring in the last several days, with some localized flooding. I'm thankful that I didn't see or hear of any human injuries or death. However, there was lots of damage done to stream channels because of the high flows. It's natural that periodic floods rearrange stream banks and habitats - in fact it's an essential process in the life of the stream. Our activities on the land though cause changes that aren't within the natural range and aren't beneficial.

The first photograph below shows a portion of a stream that I've observed over the last year. While this small section of the stream bank was already eroded and cut down to form a vertical wall of dirt, the recent high waters ripped away all of the dirt in this large depression. I'm not too experienced at estimating amounts of dirt but would guess that at least several tons of soil was carried downstream from a length of stream reaching no more than 100 yards. If you recognize that similar erosion effects occurred in dozens of other places on this same stream and multiply this by the thousands of small streams throughout the James River watershed, you can see the enormity of this problem.

You can see in the second picture (below) the stream bank across from that in the first view. This slope was covered all the way to the top of the slope with large stones (generally known as rip rap) in an attempt to stabilize the portion nearest the adjacent road. Almost all of the stones were washed away during this storm, showing that our human attempts at channel protection are sadly inferior to natural vegetative buffers and land cover.

This small tributary to Ivy Creek, in Albemarle County, is less than one mile in length upstream of the point shown in these photographs and this portion of the stream drains an area of about 0.5 square miles. The land is primarly in pastures with scattered home sites and a relatively small percentage of impermeable surfaces. However, the stream-side vegetative buffers are completely missing or very narrow along at least half of the stream's length. That this small watershed with primarily agricultural land can produce such force and destruction illustrates the extreme importance of maintaining stream buffer plantings and re-establishing them.

Finally, you can click on the link below and see a short news segment from Channel 19 TV in Charlottesville where I was interviewed describing this type of damage from high flows.




http://www.newsplex.com/video?clipID=4490640&autoStart=true&contentID=82706652

Flow Patterns in the James

By Dave Sligh

I've been looking at stream flow records during the last week to understand effects of human management and storms on stream flows in the James River basin. The graphs below show recent flows in the Jackson River, the stream which joins with the Cowpasture River to form the James, in the mountains of Alleghany County.

Releases of water from Gathright Dam control flows in the Jackson River and in the James River for a considerable distance downstream under many conditions. However, we can see that the effects of this recent storm has overridden the influence of the Dam. The first graph below shows that stream flows were maintained at a stable, low level below Gathright Dam through controlled releases by the Corps of Engineers which operates that dam. In contrast, the flows rose very sharply in the Jackson River at the stream gage below Dunlap Creek at Covington.

Flows rose very quickly in the Jackson during a 9 hour period, with an increase of over 400%. Several factors likely contributed to this drastic increase in flow over such a short period. Consistent rains in recent weeks have contributed to saturated soils so that much of the rainfall runs off the land rather than soaking into the ground and the steep mountain slopes in this area can contribute to rapid rises. Finally, there are fairly large percentages of impermeable surfaces (streets, parking lots, buildings, etc.) in the Covington area. To assess the relative contributions of these factors, we can look at storm-related flows during other times of year when the soil is drier and more likely to hold a larger percentage of rainfall that lands on vegetated areas.

I and others plan to make a long-term study of the effects of Gathright dam releases on the James River system. Wherever human actions and structures affect a natural system, we must periodically consider whether these factors can or should be altered to provide for better water quality, for competing human uses, and for the overall natural balance of the stream ecosystem.

Big Challenges For the James and the Bay

By Dave Sligh

I attended a meeting yesterday with citizens and officials from the Rivanna River watershed who are trying to see if they/we can help determine the way that EPA's newest efforts to protect the Chesapeake Bay can and should be applied in the area. I hope this effort can be a model that other citizens in watersheds throughout the upper James basin might emulate, because it could help local folks be more committed to following-through on the implimentation of pollution control plans. These plans are designed to benefit the Bay and all of the downstream resources but can and must correct significant problems from sediment and nutrient pollution in waters throughout the headwaters and Piedment areas of the James watershed.

If you don't yet know about initiatives that EPA, the states, and groups like ours are involved with to finally move Bay restoration forward forcefully, you might be interested to read some of the background materials. One good place to start is the Virginia DEQ's site at: http://www.deq.state.va.us/tmdl/chesapeakebay.html/chesapeakebay.html. We'll working to keep you up-to-date on these issues in the coming year or two and will need your help to support strong, specific cleanup goals and vigourous enforcement. Please also check out our brand new "State of the James" report - our report card on the River and its tributaries (http://jamesriverassociation.org/the-james-river/state-of-the-james/).

Finally, I'll leave you with a view of the Rivanna River this past summer, to remind you of the kinds of impacts an over-supply of nutrients can have on local streams.
























The solid-looking masses you see in the Rivanna are not rocks but large clots of algae that made the stream unpleasant for human use and are a symptom of water quality problems.