Water flows through all of our land. To keep it plentiful and safe for drinking, swimming and fishing, we need clean air, expansive forests, responsible farms, wooded stream banks, and communities and individuals who make choices to avoid pollution.
FRONTLINE correspondent Hedrick Smith takes an in-depth look at Puget Sound and the Chesapeake Bay, and examines the growing number of hazards to human health and our nation’s waterways.
Both PEC and partner group, the Coalition for Smarter Growth (CSG), were interviewed for the piece. We stressed that poor land use decisions and sprawling development pose the primary threat to the Bay’s water quality.
Limestone geology, also known as Karst, is quite prevalent in the eastern United States. Limestone often dissolves in water, creating voids where groundwater flows like an underground river –gnawing away rock over the eons.
The natural wearing away of limestone over the millenia creates fantastic caves, unique ecosystems and touristic wonders (think Luray Caverns). However, in developed areas, human activities and new development can accelerate the natural pace of erosion–causing sinkholes, threatening buildings and roads, and contaminating groundwater.
When Mike and Margrete Stevens first came to Fauquier County eighteen years ago, as the new owners of Bonny Brook Farm, near Warrenton, they made friends with their neighbors Julian and Sue Scheer and Hilary and Rich Gerhardt (the Scheers’ daughter and son-in-law). This friendship with a family of dedicated conservationists led the Stevens to start hosting a wildflower walk on their land each April, as a sky-colored carpet of Virginia Bluebells blossoms along Cedar Run.
Farmers are using a unique incentive program coordinated by PEC to substantially expand water quality protections in our region. The program helps cover their costs for fencing livestock out of streams.