Blueridge Watershed Coaltion Water Monitoring
In 2008, several community meetings were held on the Blue Ridge of Jefferson County to help create a vision of these mountain communities in years to come. The meetings were well attended by approximately 350 mountain residents. With the new Chesapeake Bay pollution diet restrictions (TMDL) looming, a loud consensus was heard from these meetings, “What is in the Shenandoah? And did we put it there?” In 2011, the Blue Ridge Watershed Coalition (BRWC) was formed to begin the arduous process of fixing 50-year-old problems that affect water quality in the mountain watershed.
With the data gained from the turbidity meters in conjunction with water level readings from the USGS gauge at Millville, the actual TMDL (Total Maximum Daily Load) will be calculated making Jefferson County one of the few watersheds in the Chesapeake Bay watershed that has an actual TMDL model based on fact, and not computer generated models.
As data begins to pour in, the BRWC plans on using this data to address issues indicated by our results and will actively seek funding to keep this important program a float in Jefferson County.
This program was funded in part by the WV Governor’s Community Participation Grant and the Jefferson County Commission, and were produced by The Downstream Project.
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