RD253 - 2010 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 groundwater 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 2009. Quantity rather than quality is the focus of this report. Quality issues are addressed in the State's Water Quality Assessment Report which can be found at http://www.deq.virginia.gov/wqalhomepage.html

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 mere than 2,300 square miles of estuaries. A summary of Virginia's surface water resources is provided in Appendix 1.

Precipitation across the State has been below normal except in the far southwest portion of the State. Because of the limited precipitation, streamflow has continued to decline. Streamgages in about half the State (primarily central and eastern portions) are recording flows below normal based on August flow statistics.

Groundwater levels continue to generally align with surface-water levels with most wells recording levels in the normal to below normal range. Because of significant recharge during the winter, eight out of nineteen wells are recording water levels in the normal range. Five wells are recording water levels well below normal.

The Office of Surface and Groundwater 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, Groundwater Characterization, Water Supply Planning, and Water Withdrawal Permitting (See Section III for summaries of programs). The Office of Surface and Groundwater Supply Planning collaborates with other state and federal programs to support local water resources planning. Significant programmatic highlights of the Office of Surface and Groundwater Supply Planning for 2009 include:

Analysis of 189 surface water, 422 groundwater, and 62 Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) data sites (Section III.A.);

Ten observation wells in southeast Virginia equipped with real time data collection platforms (Section III.B.);

Additional new real time wells installed in Northumberland and New Kent Counties (Section III.B.);

Development of Virginia Spring Database and continued geophysical logging activities (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 four (4) wellhead protection implementation grant projects (Section III.C.);

Management of 254 active groundwater withdrawal permits and 123 active permit applications (Section III.D.);

Management of 67 active Virginia water protection permits and 12 active permit applications (Section III.D.);

Development of electronic reporting option leads to improved reporting under Water Withdrawal Reporting Regulation (Section IV.);

Public water supplies continue to account for the greatest percentage of the total water use in Virginia (Section IV.);

Observation of decreased demands on surface and groundwater resources (Section V.);

The Proposed Expansion of the Eastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area (Section VII.);

Acknowledgement of the need for a secure source of funding for surface and groundwater 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.