Section 319
NONPOINT SOURCE PROGRAM SUCCESS STORY
Implementing Stormwater Practices Reduces Bacteria in Shellfish Beds
Waterbody Improved
Hevf d fecal c^°"*°
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sanitary discharges from boats, improper pet waste
disposal practices, exfiltration from existing sewer
lines, sanitary sewer overflows and sheet flow
runoff from lawns and urban areas. Natural sources
of FC bacteria include migratory and resident birds
along with the natural mammalian populations,
which are estimated to occupy 30 percent of the
watershed area.
River NOW, the city undertook an extensive public
education campaign that included installing water-
shed and storm drain identification markers and
conducting an education campaign targeted at pet
waste management.
Results
Project Highlights
In 2006 numerous partners collaborated to develop
a TMDL implementation plan. Virginia Beach
took the lead in implementing the plan, including
retrofitting many of its sewage pump stations
with generators that will alleviate the impact of
power disruptions during extreme storm events;
constructing wet ponds, extended detention ponds
and wetlands; creating seven oyster reefs; reveg-
etating 2,800 feet of riparian buffers (including
15 shoreline buffer projects, 6 stormwater proj-
ects, 4 school projects and establishing extensive
greenways); using antimicrobial mats in stormwater
pipes; installing three solar aerators in each of two
stormwater impoundments; and building one fish
ladder and five outfall sediment traps.
Additionally, the city focused staff and financial
resources on reducing and preventing sanitary
sewer overflows. The city performs smoke testing
of the sanitary sewer system and installs manhole
inserts and cleanout plugs to prevent stormwater
inflow. The city has also developed an ongoing and
intensive campaign to connect properties
to the public sewer. In fact, Virginia Beach
requires that all properties be connected
to public sewers where the service is
available. Moreover, the city aggressively
pursues repairs of its sanitary sewer
systems using a "find and fix" approach.
The city successfully sought and advo-
cated that EPA establish a "no discharge
zone" for the Lynnhaven watershed,
reducing bacteria and nutrient inputs from
boats. The boating public embraced the
requirements through the efforts of a
citizen advocacy group called Lynnhaven
River 2007 (now called Lynnhaven River
NOW). Its education and publicity cam-
paigns advocated for the availability of
sanitary pump-out facilities at city and pri-
vate marinas. Partnering with Lynnhaven
These efforts significantly reduced FC counts. All
three bays are meeting water quality standards
(Table 1) and their designated shellfishing uses.
In November 2007 state Health Commissioner
Robert B. Stroube of VDH lifted the shellfish
condemnation of 1,462 acres within the three
waterbodies (effective November 26, 2007). VDEQ
expects to remove them from Virginia's CWA sec-
tion 303(d) list of impaired waters for FC bacteria in
2010.
Partners and Funding
The comprehensive implementation strategy cost
approximately $6 million. Virginia Beach funded the
majority, spending $4.6 million alone on retrofitting
sewage pump stations with generators. Since it
began building sewers in the Lynnhaven watershed
in 1975, Virginia Beach has spent approximately
$180 million on sewer extensions and sewer reha-
bilitation and repairs. VDEQ funded the develop-
ment of both the TMDL and implementation plan
using approximately $35,000 of CWA section 319
funding provided by the Virginia Department of
Conservation and Recreation.
Table 1. Water quality summaries for Lynnhaven, Broad and
Linkhorn bays in 2003 and 2008.
Location
Area 70:
Lynnhaven
Bay
Area 71:
Broad and
Linkhorn
Bays
February 2003
Geometric mean
(MPN/lOOmL)
25
10.9
QO^Percentile
(MPN/lOOmL)
264
90.8
September 2008
Geometric mean
(MPN/lOOmL)
6.7*
4.8*
QO^Percentile
(MPN/lOOmL)
35.1*
27.7*
o
Uj
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(D
O
a
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CO
Meets water quality standards, which require a geometric mean of
no greater than 14 MPN /100 mL and an estimated 90th percentile of
no greater than 49 MPN/100 mL.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Water
Washington, DC
EPA841-F-09-001E
June 2009
For additional information contact:
Ann Carkhuff, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 3
crkhuff@epa.gov • 215-814-5735
Steve Mclaughlin, Virginia Beach, Virginia
smclaugh@vbgov.com • 757-385-4131
Dave Lazarus, Virginia Department of Environmental Quality
dslazarus@deq.virginia.gov • 804-698-4299
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