Strategy for Watershed Management Solutions

The Loudoun Strategy for Watershed Management Solutions (SWMS) project is a collaborative effort to coordinate existing watershed efforts and define a shared vision for watershed activities across Loudoun County.

The development of a watershed management plan provides a planning and working document for both government and citizen activities.

The effort is aimed at developing a strategic plan that will compile and evaluate optimum strategies for water resource management. Water resource management is critical to providing clean potable water and a healthy sustainable environment.

Funding for the project is provided by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and Loudoun County. The SWMS Team has worked to develop a countywide approach for the watershed planning effort. The team has been discussing a range of issues, including:

consensus goals and scope for the watershed plan;
scientific protocols to be used in the watershed planning effort;
the overall flow for watershed planning activities;
how public involvement should be accomplished county-wide;
criteria for prioritizing sub-watersheds and specific projects;
hopes and expectations for implementation;
coordination or protocols for internal county processes to ensure a smooth planning process; and
how best to manage water resources using the watershed as the basic unit of resource management.

Facilitation for the project has been provided by the Institute for Environmental Negotiation at the University of Virginia. The stakeholder group developed a consensus strategy and framework for the development of the watershed management plan.

The preliminary phase was designed to establish how the various groups and stakeholders will work together through the watershed planning and implementation efforts, catalogue existing watershed activities, as well as develop a joint vision for Loudoun's watershed activities.

Meetings

There were several meetings of the SWMS Team in 2006. Meeting documents are online as is a Final Report. Some documents are in .pdf format and require Adobe Reader, which may be downloaded here.

Click on the map for a larger view of Loudoun's watersheds.
(Requires Adobe Reader.)

Final Report

The final report of the Loudoun County Strategy for Watershed Management Solutions (SWMS), dated December 2006, is online. Please note that some of the files are large and may require patience to download. A briefer report overview also is online.

The report sections are online here:

Cover Page
Forward
Table of Contents
Sections I-V: Executive Summary, Declaration of Cooperation, Inventory of Watershed Activities, Watershed Planning Work Plan, Evaluation of SWMS Effort
Appendix A
Appendices B-F

Source Water Protection Issues

A map has been created that highlights source water protection issues dealing with the fate and transport of contaminants in the groundwater and catastrophic subsidence (sinkhole collapse) in the karstic/carbonate area along Limestone Run and Highway 15 in the Leesburg Limestone Conglomerate Formation.

Loudoun County Carbonate Area with Mapped Sinkholes: Route 15 Corridor

The Cardinal Glen stream restoration project is another example of source water protection issues. A report on the project is online:

Cardinal Glen Stream Restoration Project

For More Information

If you would like more information about the project, please contact either Kelly Baty of the Loudoun County Department of Building and Development.

Wm. Kelly Baty, C.P.G, Hydrogeologist
Department of Building & Development
1 Harrison Street, S.E., 3rd floor
Leesburg, VA 20177
Phone: 703-771-5390
e-mail: kelly.baty@loudoun.gov

Online Resources

Local

Regional

National

United States Geological Survey: Ground Water & Surface Water: A Single Resource