Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, January 4, 1994 TAG: 9402250002
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: A. SCOTT McDOWELL
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Luckily for me, Mason's Creek drains the slopes of Catawba Mountain and Fort Lewis Mountain just this side of Smith Gap, where the new landfill is. At first, I couldn't figure out why severe erosion had been reported from the area where the landfill was being excavated. Mason's Creek seemed clear and full of life. But then I realized that Mason's Creek and Bradshaw Creek are two entirely different streams. Bradshaw Creek drains south and then east into the North Fork of the Roanoke River. Mason's Creek drains north and then east into the Roanoke River.
As a hydrologist and fisherman, I noticed that the Roanoke River remained muddy for days longer than it should have after a rain.
This hydrologic situation is a perfect example of the undeniable utility of vegetation as erosion control and as a filter for water quality in general.
Mason's Creek, even after a 2-inch rainstorm one week, and a 3-inch rainstorm the next, was running clear. The vegetated mountainsides allow the water to infiltrate, slow runoff and can handle the incredible amounts of water involved in storms. Bradshaw Creek and the Roanoke River, however, are feeling the effects of progress.
The water quality and the environment of the Roanoke Valley goes beyond conservative or liberal politics. It just is what it is. Unfortunately, as long as people don't have to see it, they won't care.
The beauty and quality of life in the mountains here cannot be bought or priced.
I read and hear people talking about how they would like to have the economic opportunities of Washington and Northern Virginia, or Charlotte. As a longtime resident of Northern Virginia, and someone who has traveled around the United States, I have a suggestion: Let all people live in Northern Virginia for one month. They would change their minds.
The traffic jams are unbelievable. The best roads in the country and a brand-new railway system - and getting around is a nightmare. When I grew up in Maryland just outside of the District of Columbia, the area was mostly farms. Now it's cheap housing tracts and shopping malls.
I fear that "progress" means more landfills and more cars.
Progress should mean improvement in the quality of life, not just the quantity of junk. Simply spending more money on uncontrolled growth is not the shopping-mall-fast-food utopia that some would have us believe.
The value of the environment in the Roanoke Valley, and everywhere, cannot be quantified, and cannot be replaced. I urge everyone who loves America to think about what has happened in other countries where democracy does not balance greed. Many industrialists seem to think Mexico is a great country. But would they want to live in Mexico City? Not a chance.
I appreciate what I have, and what America's natural heritage is all about. I say let's stop complaining about the economy and focus on the future.
\ A. Scott McDowell of Salem is an environment-science and engineering hydro- geologist.
by CNB