The Rivanna Rambler

November 27, 2008

Walking through the South Fork Rivanna Water Treatment Plant brings a new appreciation for what it takes to turn river water into potable, safe drinking water.

 

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This show originally aired on November 27, 2007 on “The Rivanna Rambler,” a weekly public affairs show airing every Thursday at 11:55 a.m. on WTJU 91.1 FM or wtju.net.

In late 1620, the God-fearing and intrepid band of Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower, first stepped on the outer shores of Cape Cod – close, but not quite there, in their search for a home and religious freedom in the New World.  After an arduous 2-month voyage across the Atlantic, their stores of fresh water – and more importantly, the cider and beer on which most people relied for drink — were precariously low.

It took several forays down the sandy arm of the Cape to find rivers that spilled fresh water … and eventually, when they moved the Mayflower to what is now known as Plymouth Harbor, it was chosen as much for its protection from Cape Cod Bay as for the  fresh water flowing in to it from the Jones River and a “very sweet brook” that flowed beside the landing rock, a brook that William Bradford wrote had as “good water as can be drunk.”  He describe the water as “sweet,” perhaps an adjective hard for us to appreciate in our modern day, unless we remember that by the 1600s, many rivers – and city streets in the Old World – were already fouled by sewage and what we would today call gray-water from bathing and laundering — and were anything but sweet or safe to drink.

For our Thanksgiving gatherings today, perhaps the one thing on the table that costs little in money or time to prepare is the water that fills our drinking glasses. 

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November 6, 2008

 

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Last week, we learned about the aquatic weed, hydrilla, an herbaceous, perennial freshwater herb originally imported from southeast Asian for aquariums and water gardens – and a plant that has taken over millions of acres of shallow standing and moving water in the United States.  Unfortunately, it has taken root  in our watershed, particularly in the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir, but it has also been found in tributaries like the North Fork as well as the river itself downstream from the reservoir.

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October 30, 2008

 

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This show originally aired on October 30, 2008 on “The Rivanna Rambler,” a weekly public affairs show airing every Thursday at 11:55 a.m. on WTJU 91.1 FM or wtju.net.

I was reading in the paper how Richard Herkowitz, director of the Virginia Film Festival, decided that the subject of aliens could have social, political, as well as entertainment value – and now we are in the midst of the movies about topics that range from immigration to space invasions.  We use the word alien to describe something that is “not from here” and usually with the connotation that it has no business being here.  Many times, we ascribe to aliens the notion that they are “invading,” and thus underscore the menacing potential.

Well, these terms are also used in the biological world.  While an alien species is simply “one not native to an area,” it may become invasive if it is able to out-compete similar but native species.  If it is able to overcome – or even thrive – within the ecological limits provided by other native organisms, the plants, insects, and animals that have evolved together in a healthy balance.

While alien space invaders may be thrilling or scary to contemplate, it is usually much harder for any of us to have a similar reaction about an invasive plant species – like the common reed, Phragmites, that is overwhelming wetlands across the eastern seaboard and changing the visual and ecological character of marshy areas.  Or the Zebra mussel, whose capacity for feeding and filtering has rendered waters from the Great Lakes to the St. Lawrence Seaway stunningly clear, but biologically barren.  Usually, we first become aware of such invasions when they have an economic impact – such as the need to keep water intakes from fowling with Zebra Mussels.

But thanks to the focused attention of the South Rivanna Reservoir Task Force, we now know that we have an aquatic invasion in our watershed. Hydrilla verticillata, commonly known as hydrilla, is forming dense mats of growth along the margins of the reservoir, reducing access to rowing lanes, snagging fishermen’s lures and stopping the strokes of boater’s paddles.

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October 16, 2008

The South Fork Rivanna Reservoir, built in 1966, is continuing to silt in from upstream erosion.  The South Fork Rivanna Reservoir Task Force is examining the condition of the reservoir and is seeking public input regarding its uses and fate.

 

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This show originally aired on October 5, 2006 and as an encore on October 9, 2008  on “The Rivanna Rambler,” a weekly public affairs show airing every Thursday at 11:55 a.m. on WTJU 91.1 FM or wtju.net.

Almost twice a month for the last couple of months, a small group of citizens and representatives of various stakeholders has been meeting to discuss the fate of the South Fork Ravenna Reservoir.  The members of this task force represent the variety of uses and benefits that the reservoir now affords this community.

Built in 1966 to augment the storage capacity at the Ragged Mountain Reservoir, it now also provides miles of flatwater for varsity and community rowers.  Fishermen come from surrounding counties to launch jon boats at all times of day and night.  Novice canoeists learn their first skills on its calm dark waters.  The upper reaches of Ivy Creek consistently offer sightings of beaver, green and great blue herons, turtles, and, sometimes even bobcats.

The reservoir also provides an immutable kind of pleasure and solace that only an expanse of water can do – one that can be appreciated looking upstream or down while crossing its bridges, or for the fortunate few who live along its shores, from livings rooms and decks.  Out of sight – and out of the minds of most – is what lies beneath, the remains of a small but thriving African American community at Hydraulic Mills which was vacated and submerged when the waters rose after the dam construction.

The aesthetic, recreational, and ecological benefits were never the primary purpose of building this reservoir, but as the community contemplates its future, it is these very benefits that the Task Force has been asked to consider by the four chairs

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June 12, 2008

 

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This show originally aired on June 12, 2008 on “The Rivanna Rambler,” a weekly public affairs show airing every Thursday at 11:55 a.m. on WTJU 91.1 FM or wtju.net

It could be any spring day on the river. True, the weather is especially cooperative: May morning temperature just rising from the low 60’s as we approached the water. Cumulus and blue above, the green fully leafed out over the river. You might say that it was as scenic as a perfect Virginia morn, as you put your boat in the water amongst cattails and the fresh mist from the sheets of water tumbling over the dam at the South Fork Rivanna River Reservoir.

Or, you might, as we were, be launching your kayaks and canoes for a trip with the specific task

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