ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, January 18, 1996 TAG: 9601180100
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE
SOURCE: Associated Press
People concerned about pollution in the Rivanna River have asked the city and Albemarle County to study the river and the area around it and come up with a plan to prevent harmful runoff.
``People who have lived here for a while have seen a change in the river,'' said science writer Jennifer Ackerman, author of a book about the Delaware Bay, one of those asking for the study. ``There are people who used to swim in the Rivanna but don't anymore.''
A recent study by the state Department of Environmental Quality has shown that much of the river bottom lacks biological life - a key indicator of pollution. The test measured for the presence of organisms usually found on river bottoms at the Old Milton Bridge and found the number of organisms lacking.
``By the time the river gets to Milton, it's no wonder,'' said fisherman Jim Brewer, who blames runoff from farms, subdivisions and the vast parking lots in commercial developments near the river for the pollution.
Brewer said he has noticed a falling off in the number of cold-water fish that normally make the Rivanna their home.
``The fish are the first things to tell us what's going on,'' said Brewer, a river buff who publishes an outdoors magazine.
The state Department of Environmental Quality has included three portions of the Rivanna on a list of 880 miles of endangered rivers and streams throughout the state. The list was sent to the Environmental Protection Agency to comply with 3-year-old regulations of the Clean Water Act.
The act requires each state to identify rivers and streams that fail to meet water quality standards and may not support fishing, swimming, aquatic life or drinking water. States then develop limits on discharge into the waters to address those problem areas.
Since 1991, streams in Albemarle County have been protected by the Chesapeake Bay Protection Act regulations requiring 100-foot buffers to prevent erosion and filter pollution and runoff.
Albemarle was the first county in Virginia to adopt the measure voluntarily. The strictures apply only to development after 1991.
This year, the county will consider a comprehensive stormwater management ordinance that would apply also to Charlottesville and the University of Virginia.
State officials emphasized that residents should not read too much into inclusion on the list.
``As far as we're concerned, there's no problem there,'' said Rod Bodkin, DEQ water quality inspector. ``I'm not sure things aren't any different on the river than they were 10 years ago. I don't believe that the river is polluted based on other information we have.''
LENGTH: Medium: 56 linesby CNB