To protect the water we drink, we need clean air, expansive forests, responsible farms, wooded stream banks, and communities and individuals who make choices to avoid pollution.
Conserving Water
By reducing impervious surface.
Land conservation and land use planning/advocacy are the primary ways that PEC works to reduce impervious surfaces.
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Improving Water Quality
Through land management.
From rural to suburban to urban, there are best management practices (native plantings, livestock fencing) that make water cleaner.
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Restoring Connections
By removing barriers.
Culverts, low-water crossings and linear infrastructure (i.e. pipelines, highways) can serve as disruptions to healthy stream flow.
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Measuring Success
Through stream monitoring.
Monitoring water quality, biological populations, and physical features of stream habitat are all vital to understanding stream health.
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From the Piedmont View
The following articles appeared in PEC's Membership Newsletter -- The Piedmont View
An Eye on Richmond
Protecting the Goose Creek Watershed
On the Ground -- Winter 2018
Headwater Stream Initiative kicks off!
Fenced in at Roundabout Meadows
SYRIA, VA. At the Robinson River, 350 linear feet of stream was restored to its natural channel, stabilizing banks from erosion, and ultimately removing sediment from going downstream to the Chesapeake Bay. In all, 5.3 miles of habitat was restored for aquatic species such as American eel and brook trout. PEC worked with USFWS, Shenandoah Streamworks, Trout Unlimited, and local landowners to complete this stream restoration project in April 2017. Monitoring for water quality, and fish population health with the help of partners of VA DGIF and TU.
Monitoring stream health involves measuring and recording long-term trends in stream conditions to measure success in conserving the Piedmont’s natural aquatic habitats and waterways. Since these streams eventually flow into larger waterways such as the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay, the protection of headwater streams is important for water quality throughout the region.
Water quality, macroinvertebrate, fish populations, physical characteristics, etc.
Understanding the scope of a stream’s health is critical. Monitoring overall stream health includes many components, such as monitoring water quality, biological populations, and physical features of stream habitat. Monitoring water quality involves testing for the presence of common stream pollutants, from sediment to e-coli bacteria. Monitoring biological populations is important because strong populations of macroinvertebrate and fish species in Virginia’s streams are indicators of clean, healthy streams and diverse ecosystems. Observing the physical characteristics of a stream, such as erosion, can provide valuable qualitative information about the stream’s condition. From conserving Virginia’s aquatic wildlife to ensuring safe drinking water, the impacts of monitoring stream health are far-reaching and critical for a healthy ecosystem.
Supporting and promoting citizen science
One way PEC and its partner organizations work to monitor and protect these streams is through the help of citizen scientists. Citizen scientists are passionate citizens, like yourself, that conduct scientific research. PEC holds water quality events in the Thumb Run watershed and Loudoun County for people of all backgrounds. Volunteer activism helps preserve local communities and ecosystems, and is essential to protecting Virginia’s Piedmont.
How can I get involved? If you are interested in working with PEC as a citizen scientist, please follow this link to our volunteer form. There are also great watershed protection groups that focus on stream health monitoring throughout the PEC region.
Loudoun's Clean Stream Coalition
The following articles were posted by Loudoun's Clean Stream Coalition
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Curious About the Streams Near You?
Check out this great interactive map and find out more about your local stream conditions in Loudoun! Read More -
History of the Chesapeake Bay Act in Virginia
The Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act (“the Bay Act”) was originally adopted by the Virginia General Assembly in 1988, taking effect in 84 localities, including suburban and urban communities like Fairfax, Alexandria and Richmond, and rural counties like Caroline, King William and Chesterfield. The General Assembly of Virginia passed the Bay Act in an effort to promote “the general welfare of the people of the Commonwealth” (section 10.1-2100) by protecting the Chesapeake Bay, its tributaries (i.e. all bodies of water that ultimately flow to the Bay and thus constitute the Bay’s watershed), and other state waters. [i] Read More -
Can a Horse Farm Improve Our Streams?
Some citizens in the Commonwealth have been able to put into place innovative practices to protect the local streams from polluted runoff. This article is about how the Prince William Soil and Water Conservation District, together with Oakwood Farm, have developed a cooperative model “Chesapeake Bay-Friendly Horse Farm”. Read More