Water Stewards Update
Pattie Bland, Pinky Derieux, Peggy
Lassanke, Linda McConahey, Frank
Reilly
Agenda
Sharing
Hot topics
TMDLs
Waters of the United States
Climate Change
Invasive Species
Submitted topics
June 25, 2011
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Sharing
Integrated Shoreline Assessment (I-SEA)
Water Steward project
Anybody else?
June 25, 2011
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TMDLs
Total Maximum Daily Loading
Could turn storm water into point source
water!
June 25, 2011
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Waters of the United States
“Significant Nexus”
Virginia non-tidal wetlands
New Wetlands Rule
Stream restoration
June 25, 2011
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Who cares about Climate
Change?
 Land Managers
 BLM
 Forestry
Service/National Park
Service
 Military Installations
 City planners
 Private land managers/
Farmers and Livestock
producers
 You
 And many more
Example – Climate Change means
Global Warming
What they’re Saying
 GHGs are increasing
What they’re missing
 Local approach might work best
 Federal Managers can preserve
mission and mitigate
 Melting Icecaps and glaciers =  Saltwater intrusion into rivers
and groundwater will damage
sea level rise
crops and habitat.
 Temperatures are rising
 Warmer winters don’t kill pests
 “release” of invasive species
Recommendation Use engineering to stave off
saltwater intrusion
•Challenge
•Salt water
wedge
•Salts kill crops
& habitat
•Solution
•Engineering
•Examples
Recommendation – Use proper plantings to exploit
•Challenge
•Salt kills
crops and
habitat
•Solution
•Make plant
choices
•Examples
Recommendation –Joint Agency cooperation can
help adapt to temperature changes
•Challenge
•Higher winter
temperatures
allow pests
•And invasives
•Solution
•Get the best
agents on the
problems
•Examples
Funding Opportunities
•Take the long view
•Develop a
relationship
•Don’t chase money –
be there with a
solution
•It’s all in how you go
about it.
June 25, 2011
Chesapeake Bay Local
Assistance Department
(CBLAD) now rolled
into DCR
Small Watershed
grants
http://www.chesapeake
bay.net/smallwatershe
dgrants.aspx
Grants.gov
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Are any localities in Virginia
allowing or mandating gray
water/black water
separation?
“SB 1427 Water reuse; Secretary of
Natural Resources to develop
guidelines that include criteria &
incentive. “
June 25, 2011
http://www.nesc.wvu.e
du/sitemap.cfm
http://leg1.state.va.us/
2010 VA 32.1-248.2
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Are any localities in serious
jeopardy with a clean water
supply for a burgeoning
population?
June 25, 2011
Virginia Cooperative Extension
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Yup – but
what do you
mean?
Water
shortage
can be
timing too
Water
shortage
around the
globe can
affect you13
Gallons of Water Used By Data Source
Army End Users
263.1 B gal annually
Primary Fuels
Utility Energy
Civil Works
MILCON
8.5 B gal
6.3 B gal
20.9 B gal
25.2 B gal
Methods
Methods
Methods
Methods
14
Interagency
and
International
Support
Supply Chain
Databases
(LMARS &
Logiquest)
36 B gal
133.4 B gal
Methods
Methods
AAFES (Class
VI)
IMPAC
Purchases
32.8 B gal
7.5 M gal
Methods
Methods
Have there been any
water rights fights
between localities?
Whiskey is for drinking; water is for
fighting...
June 25, 2011
Maryland vs Virginia
NC vs Virginia
Hampton Roads vs
Mataponi
Danville vs Greensboro
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What are the most
polluted waters in
Virginia?
June 25, 2011
Let’s see
Surf your watershed
Virginia
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What percentage of Virginia
waters have experienced
cleanup and are now
deemed “safe”?
June 25, 2011
What is safe?
What is not safe?
Impaired waters.
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Loudoun County Watersheds
 http://www.loudounwatershedwatch.org/subitem2_2.html
Which are the Biggies for us?
Sediment
Nutrients
Animal Waste
Pesticides
Salts
Toxicants
Thermal
Chesapeake Bay Pollutants
CHESAPEAKE BAY PROGRAM - ENVIRONMENTAL INDICATORS
Nitrogen Trends in Rivers
Entering the Bay:
Flow Adjusted Concentrations
Monitoring data from major
rivers entering tidal waters
of Chesapeake Bay show
that nitrogen
concentrations are
decreasing in the
Susquehanna, Potomac,
Patuxent, and James rivers.
The Pamunkey (a tributary
to the York) shows an
increasing trend.
The remaining rivers
show no trends.
1980s – 2002
Source: USGS and Susquehanna River
Basin Commission, PA. Results are
shown for flow adjusted trend analyses
using the earliest complete data set
collected since 1985.
CBP 7/22/03
TRACK 1: NUTRIENT ENRICHMENT INDICATOR
Decreasing
No significant trend
Increasing
Chesapeake Bay Pollutants
CHESAPEAKE BAY PROGRAM - ENVIRONMENTAL INDICATORS
Phosphorus Trends in Rivers
Entering the Bay:
Monitored Loads
Monitoring data from major
rivers entering tidal waters
of Chesapeake Bay show
that phosphorus loads are
decreasing in portions of
the Susquehanna and in the
Patuxent, Mattaponi, James
and Appomattox rivers.
The remaining rivers and
the rest of the Susquehanna
show no trends.
1980s – 2002
Source: USGS and Susquehanna
River Basin Commission, PA.
Results are shown for trend
analyses using the earliest
complete data set collected since
1985.
CBP 7/22/03
Decreasing
No significant trend
Increasing
TRACK 1: NUTRIENT ENRICHMENT INDICATOR
Chesapeake Bay - How’s It
Doing
Lets look at some systems indicative of
condition:
SAV submerged aquatic vegetation
Striped Bass
Blue crabs
Oysters
Chesapeake
Bay - How’s It
Doing
 SAV IS
recovering
Chesapeake
Bay How’s It
Doing
 Striped Bass
Chesapeake Bay How’s It Doing
Blue
Crabs
Chesapeake Bay How’s It Doing
Oysters
Is the Kepone contamination
of the 1970s still resonating
in the James River and
Chesapeake Bay?
June 25, 2011
Water insoluble
powder
Still there at “safe
levels”
a half-life of about 30
years
Sometimes in fish
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We seem to have been
experiencing more droughts
in recent years. Is this just
anecdotal or is there hard
evidence?
“Barnett and his team used
computer models to study
water flow in Western
rivers over the past 50
years.
The researchers found that
the changes currently
affecting the U.S. West
have less than a one
percent chance of being
due to natural variability,
Barnett told National
Geographic News.”
June 25, 2011
Its real
Remember its timing as
well as dry reservoirs
IPCC
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And following up on that is
there any preparation (i.e.,
ordinances in localities
regarding limits on
usage)for a disastrous
shortage such as Lake
Lanier going dry two years
ago?
“The theory of state preeminence over
local governments was expressed as
Dillon’s Rule in an 1868 case:
"Municipal corporations owe their
origin to, and derive their powers and
rights wholly from, the legislature.”
June 25, 2011
Nope
Dillon Rule state
Transfer between
watersheds requires
State permission
Think how that can be
turned around.
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Can we get a reliable long
term forecast on
precipitation?
June 25, 2011
Reliable?
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Energy intensive
water intensive
Recent CWA ruling
requires 90% reduction
in intake mortality.
Is desalination a viable
option for obtaining clean
water on a large scale? Waste
It is viable – Tampa!
June 25, 2011
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Comment on solutions for:
upland runoff, especially on
narrow shoreline lots with
preexisting hardscaping
June 25, 2011
Google says!
But is this the right
question?
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Comment on solutions for:
upland runoff, especially on
narrow shoreline lots with
preexisting hardscaping
LID is retain it.
1. Conserve natural areas
2. Minimize development impacts
3. Maintain site runoff rate
4. Use integrated management
practices
June 25, 2011
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Low Cost Alternatives
Splash Blocks by Myersculpture
Moderate Cost Alternatives
Flow-through Planter
Reservoir,
12" min. depth
Reverse bend
trap or hooded
overflow
Building
exterior wall
Downspout
Cobbles or
splash block
18" sandy loam,
minimum
infiltration rate
5" per hour
Filter fabric
Concrete or other
structural planter wall with
waterproof membrane
12" open-graded
gravel, approx.
½" dia.
Perforated pipe
Additional
waterproofing on
building as
needed
Drain to storm drain or discharge;
bottom-out or side-out options
“High” Cost Alternatives
Doing Nothing!
Flood Damage
County-wide re-plumbing to meet TMDLs
Many LID tools are “retrofit-able”
Comment on non traditional
shoreline erosion methods
such as hydroseeding on
steep banks and the use of
engineered fabrics, some
preseeded, such as Filtrex
June 25, 2011
Not really
nontraditional
Standard E&S BMPs
Hydroseeding:
Low fertilizer – right
seed – Stickers and
tackifiers
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Comment on non traditional
shoreline erosion methods
such as hydroseeding on
steep banks and the use of
engineered fabrics, some
preseeded, such as Filtrex
June 25, 2011
Engineered fabrics
Pre-seeded – what seed?
Installation is key
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Comment on non traditional
shoreline erosion methods
such as hydroseeding on
steep banks and the use of
engineered fabrics, some
preseeded, such as Filtrex
June 25, 2011
Gabions
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Comment on non traditional
shoreline erosion methods
such as hydroseeding on
steep banks and the use of
engineered fabrics, some
preseeded, such as Filtrex
June 25, 2011
Filtrex or coir logs
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Comment on the use of
stone riprap without filter
cloth and planting trees
within the riprap
June 25, 2011
Rip Rap – what’s it for?
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Comment on the use of
stone riprap without filter
cloth and planting trees
within the riprap
June 25, 2011
Beware of failures
Info
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Would you also review the
differences between rain
gardens that home owners
can afford to install and
maintain and the more
commercial rain gardens
which act as biofilters and
require removal of existing
soils and replacement with
rock like materials for
drainage?
June 25, 2011
Sure
Rain gardens are
gardens
Commercial Rain
Gardens are
“Bioretention Cells”
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Bioretention Design
 Hydrologic
Considerations
 Deep Soil Disturbance
 Underdrain
 Design Categories:
 pretreatment
 treatment
 conveyance
 maintenance reduction
 landscaping
Step 4. Size matters
Determine your roof or drainage area
Determine the amount of rain water that
you want it to hold.
Consider the soil type
Tighter soil gardens require more volume
Or overflow structure
4% 2%
Washington, DC Reagan National
2001 Daily Rainfall
Frequency (inches)
4%
0.25
0.5
1
>1
90%
Step 4. Size matters (Continued)
 Estimate the drainage area of your roof:
Width)
(Length x
Example: Length of roof = 40'
Width of roof = 20'
(Calculate the area of the roof that is draining to one gutter.)
 Estimate the depth of rain: (In VA, use an estimate of
0.25" of rain per event)
Example: event depth of rain = 0.0208' (0.25"÷12"per foot =
0.0208')
(You can also use a depth of rain from a specific rainfall, just be
sure to convert it into ‘feet’ units.)
 Calculate the Volume:
(Length x Width x Depth)
Example: 40'L x 20'W x 0.0208'D = 16.6 cubic feet
Step 4. Size matters (Continued)
Calculate the Garden Size: (Length x
Width x Depth to contain 16.6 cubic feet)
Example: Depth of 6 inches need 33 square
feet. (16.6 Cubic feet of water/ 0.5 feet =
33.2 square feet)
Poor drainage = bigger area (resources
at NC State web site)
What else do we have time for?
www.AdvancedMasterGardener.org
June 25, 2011
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