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water quality standards. We drink, swim, fish and play in our local waters. The work to repair them takes time and the recovery will likely take longer. As a community, we should commit to restoring our local waters to good health. StreamWatch will continue the necessary task of monitoring the quality of our streams and rivers. We hope community members will support us and our nine community partners in working toward a cleaner watershed.
The health of our streams is deter-mined using benthic macroinvertebrate sampling (see page 2 for explanation). Streams are rated from “very poor” to “very good” based on results from multiple samples. Streams rated as “fair” or worse fail the Virginia water quality standard for aquatic life. All data collect-ed by StreamWatch meets the highest standards of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. Our findings indicate that stream health has not substantially changed over time, as results are similar to those of years past. From 2012 to 2014, 64 percent of monitored sites failed to meet the Virginia standard for aquatic life and only 36 percent met the standard. The main stem of the Rivanna is faring a bit better than the watershed as a whole. Of the eight sites located on the Rivanna (including the North and South Forks), half pass the standard with “good” ratings and the other half fail with “fair” ratings. Several sampling sites have fluctuated between “good” and “fair” ratings during the past decade. As reported in earlier assessments, it is possible to restore some of these streams to consistently good health. Improving how we manage our resources, such as implementing stormwater best management practices and increasing riparian buffers, will hopefully lead us on a path to healthier streams. We all want healthy waterways and should not be content with 64% of sampled streams failing to meet state
e live in a modern age when things progress quickly and we see
results immediately. It is easy to forget how slow nature can be in response to improving or declining ecological conditions. Just as it can take up to a decade for the health of a forest to rebound after a fire, the health of a stream can take years to respond to development occuring in a watershed. When we monitor local water quality for an extended period of time, we have the opportunity to observe subtle chang-es. By watching our local streams cafeful-ly, we will know when and where water quality is improving or declining. StreamWatch has been monitoring stream and river health within the Rivanna River watershed since 2003. While the Rivanna watershed is in our backyard, it also plays a larger role as a tributary of the James River, which ultimately flows into the Chesapeake Bay. Not only do we need to concern ourselves with the creeks running by our homes and the water we drink here, but it is important to be aware that what happens in our watershed affects communities and ecosystms downstream in the Bay, which is an integral part of our region. With the commitment and hard work of nine community partners and more than 100 citizen-science volunteers, StreamWatch monitors 50 stream sites twice a year within the Rivanna River watershed. This report looks at stream health during the three year window from Spring 2012 through Fall 2014.
Rivanna River Watershed2012-2014 Stream Health Report
Stream Health
Very Good
Good
Fair
Poor
Streams below this line fail to meet the Virginia water quality standard for aquatic life
58%
26%
10%6%
W
(5 of 50)
(13 of 50)
(29 of 50)
(3 of 50)
ORANGE
ALBE
MAR
LELO
UISA
ORANG
E
GREEN
E
Keswick
ALBE
MAR
LE
FLUV
ANNA
Stanardsville
Crozet
Columbia
Cunningham
White Hall
Free Union
RuckersvilleNortonsville
Lake Monticello
Charlottesville
Palmyra
0 5Miles
VeryGood
Good
Fair
Poor
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8
1
64
5
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22
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1612
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1011
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4643
Benthic macroinvertebrates (bottom-dwelling bugs) are
collected from the stream with a net by trained StreamWatch
citizen scientists.
Rating the health of streams
The insects are sorted and identified. All samples are
processed in accordance with a quality assurance project plan
approved by Virginia DEQ.
Each insect has a pollution tolerance rating from 0 to 10 used to score the sample. The types
and diversity of bugs also affect the score.
Three years of scores are analyzed and averaged to obtain an overall rating for
the site.
1 2
3 4
Mechums River @ 692 - B
Stockton Creek upper @ 683
Powells Creek ~80 meters above Lickinghole
Lickinghole Creek south of Fairwinds Lane
Ivy Creek in Rosemont
Little Ivy Creek trib @ Kingston Road
Ivy Creek @ 601
Morey Creek south of Bellair
Doyles River @ 674
Doyles River upper @ National Park Boundary
Albemarle County reference stream #2
Moormans River @ 601
Mechums River @ 601
Buck Mountain Creek @ 665 - A
Fishing Creek west of Willwood Dr
Naked Creek @ 844
Buck Mountain Creek upper west of 666 - A
Lynch River @ 603
Roach/Buffalo River north of 648
Quarter Creek in Twin Lakes
Parker Branch @ 633
Stanardsville Run upstream of N. Ridge Way
Swift Run @ 605
Marsh Run upstream of 641
North Fork @ Advance Mills
Preddy Creek west of Rosewood Drive
Burnley Branch @ Burnley Station Road
Moores Creek near Woolen Mills
Meadow Creek west of Locust Lane Ct
Rivanna @ Darden Towe
South Fork @ Forks of Rivanna
North Fork @ Forks of Rivanna
Rivanna @ Milton
Buck Island Creek @ 729
Carroll Creek in Glenmore
Cunningham Creek Middle Fork upstream of Bell Farms Lane
Lake Monticello trib #1 emptying to Jackson Cove
Mechunk Creek @ 759
Mechunk Creek upper @ 600
Beaverdam Creek East Prongupstream of 600
Turkeysag Creek @ 22
Rivanna @ Crofton - A
Raccoon Creek @ 15
Cunningham Creek @ 15
Ballinger Creek downstream of 625
Long Island Creek @ 601
Rivanna 5.2 km downstream of Palmyra
Carys Creek @ 15
Rivanna @ Rivanna Mills
Cedar Branch near Crofton (not shown)
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GOOD
Map courtesy of Chris Bruce, The Nature Conservancy
More than half the bugs collected in spring 2014
were not sensitive to pollution. The absence of bugs that are sensitive to pollu-tion indicates that the
stream experiences significant amounts of
pollution.
The health of streams in our watershed ranges from unhealthy to near pristine. We rate these streams from “very poor” to “very good” using the Virginia Stream Condition Index, which has been developed by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. But what do those ratings mean? What does a “good” stream look like compared with a “poor” stream? Let’s take a look.
Buck Mountain Creek has been rated “good” consistently. The upper tributaries of Buck Mountain Creek are in the Shenandoah National Park, located in northwest Albemarle County. The creek largely is surrounded by forest and experiences only moderate runoff from agricultural fields. Meadow Creek is one of two major urban creeks within the City of Charlottesville, and over the past 10 years it has consis-tently received a “poor” rating. Meadow Creek receives urban runoff from lawns and parking lots which scours stream banks and delivers pollution that degrades stream habitat and water quality.
Comparing a healthy and unhealthy stream
Buck Mountain Creek at Route 666 Meadow Creek west of Locust Lane Court
More than half of the bugs collected in spring
2014 were sensitive or somewhat sensi-tive to pollution. Their presence indicates that the
stream is healthy and experiences only
moderate amounts of pollution.
39%Sensitive
41%Not
Sensitive
20%Somewhat Sensitive
3%Sensitive
63%Not
Sensitive
34%Somewhat Sensitive
20 total types of insects 11 total types of insects
Land use in Buck Mountain Creek Watershed Land use in Meadow Creek Watershed
Watershed land use data are from 2009 - more information is available in our 2011 report “Stream Health Follows Land Use”
82% 10% 7% 1%Forest cover
Grazing Impervious surface
Open land~50
People per square mile
48% 32% 20%Forest cover
Impervious surface
Open land~3000
People per square mile
» Large riparian zone with minimal human impact
» Minimal stream channel alteration
» Stream banks are very stable and not significantly eroded
» Good habitat on stream bottom with lots of rocks and slight sedimentation
» Medium riparian zone with noticeable human impact
» Some stream channel alteration
» Stream banks are moder-ately stable and partially eroded
» Poor habitat on stream bottom with minimal rocks and moderate sedimentation
Doni AhearnJoy AndrewsVirginia AshbyMelba AtkinsonCameron BeersCalvin BieseckerAlex BijakLisa BittnerKatey BlumenthalMisty BoosKsenia BrazhnikLuke BrazhnikAshley BrillRose BrownJennifer BucherJillian BurganPatricia BurkettMecca BurnsNora ByrdPatrick CampbellJohn CampbellBevin CettaGus ColomTina ColomCristina CornellZack DelGrosso
Lavinia deVillierJohn EdelenMiranda Elliot RaderSharon EllisonMatt EstesCarol EvansNancy FordNed FossNancy FriendMatt GallupRepp GlaettliSean GrzegorczykShane GrzegorczykDeb HackettElise HackettRay HackettShirley HalladayMark HeltTana HerndonErika HowsareJohn InceFrancoise JohnsonLeah JungMarilyn KoleszarChris KoppJane Kopp
Karen KostyalClai LangeVera LeoneMary LoftonKeggie MallettWilliam (Bill) MarleyNed MartinPeter MatthewsNeil MeansVicki MetcalfJill MeyerSusan MeyerLeslie MiddletonBrit Minor Becky MinorMaggie MorrisConnor MulveyNancy-Elizabeth NimmichCindy O’ConnellKillian O’ConnellLisa PankowskiWoody ParrishArt PettyShaina PhillipsGene Potter
Marilyn PotterDot PreisJennifer PricePatrick PunchBrigitte RauKristina Reid BlackAmi RiscassiSarah RobinsonDeana SackettEvie SackettJohn SavidesPat SchnatterlySteve SchnatterlyClare SevcikMarjorie SiegelSusan SleightDavid SmithMarilyn SmithShawn StrubbeJim SurdukowskiLeigh SurdukowskiIda SwensonRoger TemplesMario TestaniRob TilghmanLarry TropeaLaura TroyMichael van den BosscheJohn WalshBill WardlawMary WardlawCaroline WattsBill WeaverNancy WeissFrank WilczekPat WilczekJohn WilkinsonLaurel WilliamsonChristina WoodsonJill Zimmerman
Thank You
2012-2014 volunteer monitors
» Albemarle County» Charlottesville Area Community Foundation» City of Charlottesville» Dominion Foundation» Elmo Foundation» Exxon/Mobil Foundation» Fluvanna County» Framestone Solutions» J & E Berkley Foundation
» Norcross Wildlife Foundation» Rivanna Water & Sewer Authority » Sam’s Club Store of Charlottesville» The Nature Conservancy » Virginia Environmental Endowment» Whole Foods
» Albemarle County» City of Charlottesville» Fluvanna County» The Nature Conservancy» Rivanna Conservation Society» Rivanna River Basin Com-mission
» Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority» Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission» Thomas Jefferson Soil and Water Conservation District
Community Partners
PO BOX 681Charlottesville, VA 22902
phone: 434-244-7879www.streamwatch.org
Foundations and organizations that provided funding to StreamWatch in 2014:
Are our urban streams improving in health?
Moores Creek and Meadow Creek are the most urbanized
creeks in the Rivanna River water-shed. As a result of all the different pressures the urban environment puts on them, they continually rank as the unhealthiest streams in our watershed. But is this changing? The most recent assessment shows a slight upswing in the benthic
sample score at both monitoring sites. While these new results reveal statistically significant positive trends (p<0.05), we are not sure at this time if this will be continuous. Persistent monitoring and reassess-ment in the coming years will help to determine if our urban creeks continue to improve in health.
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2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014Year
Bent
hic
Sam
ple
Scor
e
Meadow Creek ( )
Moores Creek ( )
To all those who help protect stream health in the Rivanna River Watershed - the many dedicated volunteers who make this work possible, private landowners who support our field work and the many individuals who support us financially.
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