In doing research on the James River in conjunction with our lab and class discussion, I came upon an interesting and relevant report on the current state of the James River. The pdf attached here shows a detailed account of how the James River is doing today, in comparison with recent years and the history since environmental records have been recorded.
The report gives the current state of the river a C overall, a score lower than I anticipated. After our walk around Belle Isle, it seemed like the James was in pretty good shape, but the evidence shows there is significant room for improvement in some areas. In terms of wildlife, the report card confirms that the population of small-mouthed bass has improved, but is still only at about half of the population goal. Another successful area of wildlife in the river system is the bald eagle, which has reached its goal for a healthy population.
The river scored a B- in Habitat, its highest scoring section. While the river has seen improvements overall in the long term, in the short term it is obvious that it still struggles from too many nutrients and sediments, which is leading to abundant algae and poor water clarity. Richmond needs to invest more money in the protection of runoff in order to improve the score for this section.
With regard to pollution and plans for restoration, the river scored a C in both categories. The levels of nitrogen and sediments in the river are still unsustainably high. The city works to protect the area of the river and improve the riparian zones around the river, but more needs to be done in order to bring the James River to the set level of cleanliness.
Questions to think about:
What is a realistic goal for improvement in the river for next year? Which area of the river should Richmond focus on improving? How could efforts be increased? How could awareness in the community and surrounding areas be increased?
Check out the report card here! State of the James River 2011
Source: http://www.jamesriverassociation.org/the-james-river/state-of-the-james/
This was surprising to me too! I guess when I think about polluted or impaired rivers, I think about ugly brown sludge in a riverbed. This is obviously not the case, since I too thought that the James River looked pretty good when we took our walk there. It is scary that a river so close by can be doing so badly and I had no idea. I am an environmental studies major so I think that I am more sensitive to issues like this than some others. If I had no idea, then I doubt much of the population in Richmond has any idea either. Without the public’s knowledge of the sad state of the river and a common sentiment that something needs to be done, I unfortunately do not think that the James will improve much in the near future.