| Welcome to the homepage of the Loudoun County Department of Building and Development's Environmental and Water Resource Initiatives. Here you will find information about the county's efforts to monitor and protect its valuable natural resources as well as links to additional information. Water Resource Monitoring Program The goal of the Water Resource Monitoring Program (WRMP), which began in October 2002, is to coordinate and work with various county departments, federal agencies and local citizens groups to assess and protect Loudoun County's valuable water resources. Since this work is a long-term project and will take significant monetary commitments, funding resources are being sought through a variety of means and organizations. The following projects are a summary of the WRMP. There is also a link to a map showing selected ground and surface water sites being monitored as part of the WRMP. Stream Monitoring There are currently 10 stream gauge stations in Loudoun County that are being monitored for their quantitative flow level. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) are monitoring one of these stations. The USGS and Loudoun County are real-time monitoring the other nine stream gauges. Also, there are several rain stations being monitored or used in the Loudoun County and USGS network. The county has worked with the USGS to upgrade stream gauges in the Goose Creek and Limestone Run watersheds to allow flood warning information to be recorded and transmitted every fifteen minutes once the streams reach a certain water level. This should assist emergency officials in alerting homeowners in historically flood prone areas in these two watersheds to seek higher ground and to protect their livestock and pets.
The following link to the USGS shows the county stream stations and their link to the USGS state and national stream inventory program. For More Information For more information about stream monitoring, please contact Kelly Baty or Glen Rubis in the Department of Building and Development, 703-777-0397. Groundwater Monitoring The ultimate goal of this program is to establish a network of approximately 20 to 30 wells throughout the county for the purpose of long-term monitoring of groundwater levels and quality. Through the well donation project, existing but unused wells will be sought, and where needed, new monitoring wells will be constructed. As data is collected over time, scientists will be able to determine if and how groundwater quality and quantity are changing. This type of information will provide a scientific basis for making decisions regarding the use and protection of this valuable resource. There are currently five permanent monitoring wells in the network. Two of these wells have been historically monitored for water level by the U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. In addition, a number of other wells and potential well sites were being evaluated for possible inclusion in the program. As part of our agreement with the USGS, a monitoring well will be equipped with real-time data collection capability and monitored for long term groundwater data in 2004. This action will augment the work performed by the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin and the USGS as they retrofit an existing well, known as the AT&T well, with real-time monitoring capability for long term groundwater data collection. For More Information For more information about groundwater monitoring, please contact Kelly Baty or Glen Rubis in the Department of Building and Development, 703-777-0397. Database Creation and Management A comprehensive database has been created to house the various types of data being collected from stream assessments, stream gauges, precipitation stations, and monitoring wells. Data will be quantitative and qualitative, and will include digital picture data, and basic text. For more information about the database, contact Glen Rubis, Department of Building and Development, 703-777-0397.
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