Water Quality Planning

Rain gardens aim to reduce the amount of stormwater runoff that collects in specific areas after heavy rains. Residents create an aesthetically pleasing garden that will improve water quality and increase wildlife habitat. By utilizing a depressed area of land, prone to excessive stormwater runoff, soil and native shrubs are planted above to absorb and filter pollutants. Through this practice, residents will reimagine their yards in a way that will reduce pollution in stormwater, improve wildlife habitat, and reduce potential flooding risks. Chesterfield County's Department of Environmental Engineering developed a Rain Garden Guide for the design and installation of rain gardens at your home or business.

Source: Chesterfield County's Rain Garden Guide

Planting trees in developed areas provide a variety of environmental benefits, from improved water quality to the mitigation of urban heat island effects. One study conducted by the Science Museum of Virginia found that specific areas in Richmond with low tree canopy and high impervious surfaces were considerably hotter than those with more tree canopy and lower impervious surfaces. Through increased urban tree planting, there is the potential of alleviating the communities at-risk for higher temperatures.

    Source: Richmond Public Works

Increased development in urban areas leads to more impervious surfaces (i.e., asphalt or rooftops) and stormwater runoff. The increased quantity of stormwater and the speed of the water flow negatively impacts local streams by overwhelming the natural systems, causing erosion.  Sometimes the erosion might be so severe urban streams convert into deep gorges made dangerous by litter and flashy, high-level flows during and after rain events.  A stream restoration project seeks to redesign the natural system of floodplain and stream channel to handle the increased flow of stormwater.  Our friends at the Northern Virginia Regional Commission (NVRC) have created a resource explaining stream restorations and highlighting some projects in the northern Virginia region.   We encourage you to take a look!

Source: Johnson, Mirmiran, & Thompson/VaTech

The implementation of forest buffers in both rural and urban areas provides a variety of environmental benefits. When trees and shrubs are planted next to streams and rivers, nitrogen, phosphorous, and sediment pollutants are absorbed in their soil and roots. When pollutants are absorbed in the forest buffer instead of flowing into local bodies of water, this improves local water quality and impacts residents' quality of life. The forest itself acts as a source of food and shelter for wildlife and are critical to various local species.

Source: Chesapeake Bay Program

By utilizing vehicles to clean roads along curbside gutters, street sweeping is an effective way to reduce the amount of pollutants that reach local bodies of water. Street sweeping removes potential pollutants such as trash, debris, sand, road salt, and other solids.

Source: Mill City Times