RD236 - 2009 Report on the Status of Virginia’s Water Resources: A Report on Virginia’s Water Resources Management Activities


Executive Summary:
This annual report, submitted to the Governor and the Virginia General Assembly in accordance with Chapter 3.2 of Title 62.1 of the Code of Virginia, describes the status of the Commonwealth’s surface and ground water resources, provides an overview of climate conditions and impacts on water supplies in the Commonwealth, and provides an update on the Commonwealth’s Water Resources Management Program for Calendar Year 2008.

Virginia’s estimated 51,021 miles of streams and rivers are part of nine major watersheds. Annual state-wide rainfall averages almost 43 inches. The total combined flow of all freshwater streams in the state is estimated at about 25 billion gallons per day. The 248 publicly owned lakes in the Commonwealth have a combined surface area of 130,344 acres. Additionally, many hundreds of other small privately owned lakes and ponds are distributed throughout the state. Other significant water features of Virginia include approximately 236,900 acres of tidal and coastal wetlands, 808,000 acres of freshwater wetlands, 120 miles of Atlantic Ocean coastline, and more than 2,300 square miles of estuaries. A summary of Virginia’s surface water resources is provided in Appendix 1.

Following significant drought conditions during 2007, the 2008 calendar year began with almost the entire Commonwealth under drought conditions. During the months of January and February, some areas of the Commonwealth received well below average precipitation, combined with low streamflows and low groundwater levels. These dry conditions and above average temperatures in late winter were followed by relatively wet conditions and near normal temperatures during March through May, resulting in a much improved drought situation throughout most of Virginia by the end of May. Record high temperatures in June and below average precipitation began a period of worsening drought conditions that continued throughout the summer. While drought conditions improved or stabilized across most of the Commonwealth by October, drought conditions and low reservoir levels persisted in the southwestern and western portions of the Commonwealth through the end of the year. While not as pronounced as the 2007 drought conditions, meteorological conditions such as those experienced in 2008 continued to impact water resources in terms of stressed supplies of stored water, low replenishment rates of reservoirs, and high water demand for irrigation.

The Office of Surface and Ground Water Supply Planning resides within the Water Division of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). The Office consists of four programs, including Surface Water Investigations, Ground Water Characterization, Water Supply Planning, and Water Withdrawal Permitting (See Section III for summaries of programs). The Office of Surface and Ground Water Supply Planning collaborates with other state and federal programs to support local water resources planning. Significant programmatic highlights of the Office of Surface and Ground Water Supply Planning for 2008 include:

* Analysis of 193 surface water, 407 ground water, and 65 Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) data sites (Section III.A.);

* Addition of two real-time ground water stations to the monitoring network and development of well construction and geochemical databases (Section III.B.);

* Receipt of three (3) local water supply programs and funding of 18 regional water supply plan development projects (Section III.C.);

* Funding of eight (8) wellhead protection implementation grant projects (Section III.C.);

* Management of 250 active ground water withdrawal permits and 123 active permit applications (Section III.D.);

* Management of 61 active Virginia water protection permits and 13 active permit applications (Section III.D.);

* Observation of public water supplies accounting for the greatest percentage of the total water use in Virginia (Section IV.);

* Observation of decreased demands on surface and ground water resources (Section V.); Expansion of the Eastern Virginia Ground Water Management Area (Section VII.);

* Acknowledgement of the need for a secure source of funding for surface and ground water supply planning (Section VII.).

Virginia’s public health, environment, and economic growth depend on the availability of quality water resources. To assure water resources are available for future generations and the continued growth of Virginia, effective water resource management must continue to be premised on a process that improves the quality and quantity of water available to the Commonwealth.