Good news and bad, on Virginia’s rivers and streams

OUR OPINION
Published: June 19, 2008

The state’s latest report on the quality of Virginia rivers and streams contained more good news than bad. Most encouraging is the Department of Environmental Quality’s growing base of data concerning water pollution in the commonwealth.

During the past six years, the agency has compiled information about almost 95 percent of Virginia’s watersheds. The agency is to be commended for its excellent and valuable work.

Of course, as the state examines more waterways, it finds more that have troubles of one kind or another. This year, Virginia added 1,100 miles of streams and rivers to its list of “impaired” waters, bringing the total to 10,600.

Fortunately, the increase does not reflect a decline in the quality of state waterways. The higher number is purely a result of adding areas that had not been examined before.

“When we add waters to the impaired waters list, it’s because we’ve looked in new places and not because water quality is deteriorating in those streams,” said David K. Paylor, DEQ’s director.

Identifying problems is the first step toward fixing them. Earlier work from the study helped spur the cleanup of four beaches. This year’s data will point the way to future improvements. It’s also worth noting that an impaired waterway is not necessarily a badly polluted one.

Still, the report makes clear that Virginia needs to continue to improve the quality of its waterways, including the 10,600 miles of rivers and streams, 2,200 square miles of estuaries, and 94,000 acres of lakes and reservoirs that in some way are impaired. It goes without saying that the most impaired waters
deserve the earliest and most intense attention.

And it is equally obvious that the most important body of water in Virginia is the Chesapeake Bay. Unfortunately, it remains one of the most severely impaired.

Saving the Bay is, quite simply, the No. 1 environmental priority for Virginia and the Mid-Atlantic region.

— From Media General’s The Richmond Times-Dispatch.