2007
Septic and Decentralized Wastewater Systems
In the far southwestern tip of Virginia, the Daniel Boone Soil & Water Conservation District has been working to protect water quality in Lee County for over 50 years. The Daniel Boone SWCD relies upon grassroots organizations, cooperation with county leaders, non-profit organizations like Canaan Valley Institute (CVI), and partnerships with state and federal agencies to accomplish its goals of identifying conservation issues within Lee County and providing leadership, education and implementation of programs that focus on land, water, and related natural resource topics.
Lee County is situated within the Clinch-Powell watershed, which is a primarily karst landscape where its rural residents depend on groundwater for their domestic needs. Karst landscapes are easily polluted as water-soluble limestone provides little filtration for pollutants, and underground river systems, caves, and sinkholes can provide a direct line to water supplies. According to the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, Lee County has over 50 miles of polluted stream. Most of these streams are polluted because of sediment, acid mine drainage, and bacteria.
According to The Nature Conservancy, the Clinch-Powell watershed is of global importance as it is the third most biodiverse watershed in the continental United States. This means the area is a biological “hotspot” home to large numbers of plant and animal species, numbers that are comparable to areas such as the Everglades in Florida and the rainforests of South America.
For example, there are 300 different species of freshwater mussels in the United States. One hundred two of these species are found in the Tennessee River. And of that one hundred two, eighty-one are found in the Upper Tennessee River system alone, which includes the Clinch-Powell watershed. The Upper Tennessee River Watershed also has more fish species than any other watershed in Virginia. Unfortunately, the Clinch watershed has the highest numbers of at-risk fish and mussels than any other watershed in the United States. The Powell is third.
Indian Creek, which is a tributary to the Powell River, serves as a perfect example of Daniel Boone SWCD’s struggles and triumphs over the past few years. In May 1999, the Wilderness Road State Park in Lee County, Virginia, discontinued water-based recreational activities in Indian Creek because of high fecal coliform levels detected in the creek by the Park. This disruption in Park activities outraged residents within the Indian Creek watershed and served as a catalyst to galvanize public support for starting the Indian Creek Watershed Action Group (ICWAG) in January 2000, of which Daniel Boone SWCD was a part.
Because Lee County is mostly a karst area, it came as no surprise that not only was Indian Creek contaminated with coliform bacteria, but household water from springs and wells was as well. One study by Virginia Tech showed that 72% of household water samples tested positive for total coliform and 36% were positive for E. coli bacteria. ICWAG’s own watershed study in September of 2000 found 7 of 9 samples from households supplied from springs, and 14 of 28 samples from those supplied from wells to be contaminated by coliforms.
There are two major sources of bacterial contamination in Indian Creek and its tributaries. The first is straight pipes, which discharge raw human sewage directly into waterways. The second is nonpoint source pollution from livestock, such as cattle and other livestock. Daniel Boone SWCD, in conjunction with the Natural Resource Conservation Service and the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, currently addresses various agricultural pollution sources with programs designed to educate and provide technical assistance to area farmers. Therefore, ICWAG, with the help of Daniel Boone SWCD, concentrated its efforts upon straight pipe elimination.
In 2001 ICWAG’s and Daniel Boone SWCD’s first “Indian Creek Watershed Waste Reduction Project” was funded by the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). Although the initial goal was to replace six straight pipes with septic systems on a 75%/25% cost share basis, the group was able to install nine systems. The success of that project reflected well upon the partnership of the Daniel Boone SWCD, the Lee County Health Department, the Indian Creek Watershed Actions Group, the Wilderness Road State Park, and local landowners.
Because of high interest in the project, Daniel Boone and ICWAG decided to team up again and try for another round of grant funding from DCR. In 2006, Lee County, in conjunction with Daniel Boone Soil & Water Conservation Office, Indian Creek Watershed Action Group, and the Powell River Partnership, was awarded grant funding in the amount of $200,000 to replace straight pipes in the North Fork Powell River watershed and the Indian Creek watershed. Half was set aside for construction of a decentralized water treatment system located in the Virginia-Lee community outside of St. Charles. The other half was earmarked for septic system installation in the Indian Creek area. Lee County and the Powell River Partnership took the lead on the Virginia-Lee decentralized system, while Daniel Boone and Indian Creek Watershed Action Group coordinated the septic system installations.
Shawn Morris, Conservation Specialist at Daniel Boone SWCD, explained how these projects are extremely necessary, especially in Southwest Virginia. “A lot of homes and businesses in this area were built before septic systems and public sewer were the norm. At this time, indoor plumbing consisted of piping all the wastewater from your house into the nearest creek. This was a definite step up from an outhouse, but we now realize that these straight pipes have a negative environmental effect. Grants like these allow us to remedy the problem with minimal cost to home and business owners.”
Kalena Porter, Daniel Boone’s Education Coordinator, said that this award ushers in a new era for water quality improvement in Lee County. “This is the first time that our office has worked so closely with the county and so many other groups. These projects include not only Daniel Boone and Lee County, but also the Powell River Partnership, Indian Creek Watershed Action Group, CVI, the Virginia Department of Health, and Lone Mountain and Powell Mountain Coal Companies. I think that the award amount shows that DCR approves of and encourages this type of broad-based community cooperation. We are all very pleased.”
Daniel Boone SWCD, ICWAG, CVI, and Lee County are now looking toward their next project. Ewing, a town built upon the banks of Indian Creek, currently has more than 30 residential or commercial entities that discharge raw sewage into the stream. Conventional septic systems for each dwelling have been considered but deemed unfeasible due to an insufficient area for installation and unsuitable floodplain soil. Instead, Daniel Boone SWCD, ICWAG, Lee County, and CVI are planning to install an alternative wastewater treatment system that will collect waste from houses and businesses in the middle of Ewing and treat it at a nearby wastewater facility. This treatment system will be located on land donated by the Virginia Department of Transportation and now owned by Lee County. The facility will be managed by Lee County PSA. The system is estimated to cost $332,000. CVI has provided grant funding in the amount of $25,000 for a preliminary engineering report and design services. Funding options for construction are currently being explored.
The experiences of the Daniel Boone SWCD clearly show how state agencies, non-profit organizations, local governments, and individual citizens can come together to positively affect a watershed’s environmental health. No one partner could have experienced such success alone. And when the issue is water quality, which affects us all, cooperation can be easy to come by once all the players understand the gravity of a polluted water supply.
2006
Kids in the Creek
Powell River Partnership 2006 Float Trip
2006 WQIA Funding