The Struggle to Clean the Rivanna River

Link to news report

BY TRICIA JOHNSON

The Rivanna and its tributaries which flow through Fluvanna are in poor shape but slowly improving, according to a report from StreamWatch, a non-profit organization which monitors the water quality of the river and streams in its watershed.
Almost half of the sampling sites in Fluvanna County both on the river and along the streams that feed it failed to meet the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality’s (DEQ) standards for aquatic life.
StreamWatch released its report, “The Biological Health of Streams and Rivers of the Rivanna River Watershed,” in June of 2014.
“Water quality and stream health are vital community interests,” reads the report. “The Rivanna River itself is a heavily used waterway, providing drinking water to many thousands of Central Virginia residents while also receiving stormwater runoff and treated wastewater.”
Data collected from 2011-2013 is compared with information going back to 2003 to illustrate both the current state of the watershed and historical trends.
Sites rated as “fair” or worse fail state standards; of 11 sampling sites in Fluvanna, five rated “fair”, five “good”, and one “very good.” Two of the sampling sites have improved since the last sampling period. While the statistics in Fluvanna County are better than those for the entire watershed, there is concern about the sites that received a “fair” assessment. “Many of the streams rated in ‘fair’ condition are located in rural or sparsely developed areas. Previous studies by StreamWatch and others suggest that some ‘fair’ streams can recover good health with modest changes in management practices,” the report stated.
StreamWatch relies heavily on volunteers – “citizen scientists” – to help assess the sites along the Rivanna River watershed. Groups of volunteers use a fine-mesh net to seine aquatic insects, and then identify and count these insects as indicators of the quality of the site.
“We place the net below the riffle – a riffle looks like a miniature rapid – and that is where we are going to be sampling,” said Anne Dunckel, monitoring program manager for StreamWatch, as she wrestled her way into a pair of hip waders.
“One of us will stand downstream of the riffle with the net, and someone else will stand upstream and agitate the rocks and dislodge the insects.” Dunckel and her volunteers waded into the Rivanna to choose a sampling site. They seined for aquatic insects, most of them barely visible to the naked eye, which were then taken to a table at the water’s edge to be sorted, identified, and counted. Volunteers armed with tweezers leaned over the table, peering into the net, and gently captured the tiny insects and placed them into ice cube trays filled with water.
After several forays into the water, net in hand, the creatures were painstakingly identified – often with the help of magnifying glasses – and counted. Most of them were then released back into the water; a few were preserved and sent off to a laboratory for confirmation of identification. StreamWatch is so meticulous in training its volunteers, and so successful at maintaining impeccable procedures and correctly identifying aquatic insects, that they have earned a singular privilege; of all the volunteer water quality monitoring organizations in the Commonwealth, only StreamWatch is permitted to directly upload data into the DEQ’s databases.
Dunckel was pleased with the preliminary results of the recent assessment of the Rivanna itself at the Crofton boat landing. While the formal analysis won’t be made until a laboratory confirms identification of some of the insects, Dunckel used another calculation to get a quick assessment. “Using the VaSOS metric, the site got a nine. Any score from seven to twelve means that the sample represents an acceptable ecological condition,” said Dunckel. ”We have found this site to be healthy in the past and this new sample continues to confirm it.” She added that she was particularly pleased to see an assortment of different kinds of an insect called a casemaker; these insects do not tolerate pollution well, so their presence and variety indicates that the water quality is good.
The non-profit group, which collects water data from the entire Rivanna river basin, is also in need of volunteers to continue its mission to monitor the Rivanna watershed. For more information about volunteering with StreamWatch, visit http://streamwatch.org/volunteers or email Anne Dunckel at Anne@StreamWatch.org