Below the Falls | Plan RVA

Environment

Rivers Planning

Below the Falls of the James

The Below the Falls of the James project is an effort to study uses and resiliency along a section of the James River estuary. The study area stretches from the falls in downtown Richmond eastward to the confluence with the Chickahominy River in Charles City County. The study area includes member localities in PlanRVA: Charles City County, Chesterfield County, Henrico County, and the City of Richmond.

The James River estuary is a unique resource that we all must share. There is value in discussing and learning about how we can sustainably share the river corridor. As a first step in answering these questions, PlanRVA has engaged with regional stakeholders to discuss key issues. The first products produced to facilitate this conversation are the Below the Falls Mapping Application and a Below the Falls Ecology StoryMap.

The Below the Falls project aims to answer two main questions

How do we respectfully share the James River?

The James River is an amazing natural resource that serves multiple purposes. There are many interactive, yet sometimes competing, uses of land and water in the study area. We use the river corridor for residential, business, and recreational purposes. The land uses lining the river are diverse: housing, industry, power generation, commerce, agriculture, forestry, education and research, parks, trails, roads, highways, and ports. We use the water for many purposes: drinking water, fishing, boating, swimming, industrial and agricultural uses, and transportation.

The purposes of the James stretch far beyond the human-oriented ones listed above. Tides influence the James River from the Chesapeake Bay all the way up to the edge of the falls in downtown Richmond. The tidal section of the James River is an estuary. Estuaries are important ecosystems that support a wide variety of species for all or part of their lives. Take a trip along the James River estuary corridor and don't be surprised if you see bald eagles and osprey nesting along the water, sturgeon breaching the water, or many baby fish among the calm tributaries and underwater grass patches. In fact, in late summer and early fall, don't be surprised if you see blue crabs among the shallows near 14th Street in Richmond.

How do we consider an uncertain future?

The James River estuary is a waterbody that has periodically flooded throughout history. These episodes of flooding due to increased water draining from the immediate watershed or from upriver can be exacerbated due to tidal influence. Flooding will likely get worse over time due to relative sea-level rise. Eastern Virginia is currently experiencing exacerbated levels of relative sea-level rise compared to most places on earth due to land subsidence. Land subsidence is when the land is effectively sinking. Land in Virginia is subsiding due to a variety of factors including groundwater withdrawals and a long-term, continuing adjustment of the bedrock as a result of ice sheets from the last ice age melting. As we consider interactions of the purposes of the James, we must keep in mind the threat posed by natural disasters along the corridor both now and in the future.

Examples of uncertainty in the Richmond region:

James River Hurricane Camille 1969

James River and Southside Richmond Hurricane Agnes 1972

Pollution in the James River

Pollution reduces water quality in the James River and its tributaries. One way you can have a positive impact is by reducing illicit discharges in urbanized areas. An illicit discharge occurs when anything other than stormwater enters a storm drain. Learn more about illicit discharges and ways to prevent them with this informational flyer.

Keep it Clean Illicit Discharge

Below the Falls Mapping Application

Explore the geography of the Below the Falls area.

Below the Falls Ecology StoryMap

Learn about the habitats, plants, and animals of the Below the Falls area.

Estuaries

Estuaries are coastal bodies of water that have mixed fresh and salty water. The water in estuaries is mixed because they are fed by rivers but also a connection with oceans. Estuaries have a barrier to the sea, that protects them from ocean energy, but, estuaries still connect with the sea. Because of this connection with the sea, estuaries are strongly influenced by tides (NOAA).

About the Osprey Nest

Osprey Nest

The RVA Osprey Cam first came to life in the late winter of 2017. Set on a bridge piling in the shadow of Richmond’s skyline and hemmed by James River Park land, the RVA Osprey Cam was a huge hit in the city and beyond - generating nearly a quarter of a million views. The stream showcased an osprey pair, later named Maggie and Walker by our viewers, as they nested, laid eggs and reared young. It’s a project that could not have happened without the support of the Friends of the James River Park.

RVA Osprey Cam

Ospery - "Mike" Michael L. Baird

Atlantic Sturgeon

Many believed the Atlantic sturgeon were gone from the Chesapeake Bay watershed. They hadn’t been sighted in rivers that fed the bay for decades. The sturgeon, one of the oldest and largest fish on earth (growing upwards of 14 feet long and weighing more than 800 pounds) were once found in huge numbers along the Atlantic Coast and coastal rivers from Canada to Florida. They were an important food for indigenous peoples along the coast and likely saved Jamestown colonists from starvation.

Sturgeon breaching in the James River - Don West

This project, Task # 48 was funded by the Virginia Coastal Zone Management Program led by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality through Grant FY18 #NA18NOS4190152 of the US Department of Commerce, National Oceanic, and Atmospheric Administration, under the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, as amended. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the US Department of Commerce, NOAA, or any of its sub-agencies.