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Problem:
Polluted Water
Nearly 7,000 miles of rivers and streams in Virginia - more than half of all those monitored by the state - are polluted and listed on the Clean Water Act’s “dirty waters” list. They include parts of Virginia’s major rivers - the Potomac, James, Rappahannock, York, Shenandoah, New, Chowan and Roanoke.
Virginia’s entire portion of the Chesapeake Bay and the tidal parts of its major Virginia rivers are listed as “dirty waters” due to excess nitrogen pollution. Nitrogen pollution causes algal blooms that close beaches, kill underwater grasses and rob the water of oxygen.
Huge “dead zones” of oxygen-starved water that kill fish, crabs and oysters have become common summer occurrences in the bay and Virginia rivers. Last year’s “dead zone” was among the largest on record and covered 40 percent of the bay. Virginia and the bay states have until 2010 to clean up the bay and its rivers or the federal government will impose sanctions. As a signatory to the regional Chesapeake Bay 2000 agreement, Virginia has pledged to reduce nitrogen pollution by 28 million pounds per year by 2010.
The biggest sources of nitrogen pollution in Virginia are sewage treatment plants and industrial facilities. Cost estimates to upgrade treatment plants with modem, available nitrogen-reduction technology range from $600 million to $1.2 billion.
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