Clean Water

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 Surfaces

Conserving Water – By Reducing Impervious Surfaces

Land conservation and land use planning/advocacy are the primary ways that PEC works to reduce impervious surfaces ...
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Impoving Water Quality - Through Good Land Management

Impoving Water Quality – Through Good 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 Eliminating 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

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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The Latest

Scenic Rivers in the Piedmont - A StoryMap

Scenic Rivers in the Piedmont – A StoryMap

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In 2020, the state of Virginia commemorates 50 years of dedication and commitment to the conservation of Virginia's water resources through the Virginia Scenic Rivers Program. In honor of that anniversary, PEC Fellowship program participants, Meredith Hickman and David Malcolm, created a StoryMap that celebrates the ten designated scenic rivers ...
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Capturing the Rain: Green Infrastructure Options for HOA Common Areas

Capturing the Rain: Green Infrastructure Options for HOA Common Areas

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Rain garden planting at Rady Park in Warrenton, VA. Photo by Marco Sanchez. Many residents frequent common areas that are managed by homeowners associations, churches, or local governments. How these entities manage their public landscapes can have a profound effect on the health of our local ecosystems, wildlife, streams and ...
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Virginia State Capitol

So Many Bills, So Little Time

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Photo by Marco Sanchez, PEC It is March, a time when most people eagerly await the end of winter and embrace the first signs of spring. For me, the spring also marks the end of long days and nights spent walking the halls and occupying committee rooms in Richmond. The ...
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Carina and Dean Elgin at their fence.

Fronting the Costs: Fencing at Mountain Hollow Farm

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Carina and Dean Elgin at their fence. Photo by Hugh Kenny, PEC. Eight generations of cattle farming had taken its toll on the streams at Dean and Carina Elgin’s Mountain Hollow Farm in northern Fauquier County. Historically, “all the cattle had access to the creek. That was our watering system ...
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What will tomorrow bring?

What will tomorrow bring?

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Expectations for the 2020 General Assembly session The General Assembly meets annually, beginning on the second Wednesday in January. Photo by Philip Pericak This year’s Virginia General Assembly promises to be an interesting one, as the November 2019 elections resulted in a change in leadership in both the House and the ...
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