RICHMOND, Va. -- In its biennial report on the health of Richmond's version of Boardwalk, the James River Association said the waterway's health improved slightly from 2021, but added more work is needed.
“The James River has come a long way since JRA was founded in 1976, and is now a prized asset for the communities that surround it, playing an important role in people’s lives every day,” said Bill Street, CEO and President for JRA said of the 2023 State of the James Report. “While progress has slowed in recent years as the river faces new challenges from climate change, we see signs that a grade A James is possible if we keep up our collective commitment and all do our part to safeguard the river for future generations.”
The overall grade for the river was a "B", with a score of 66% (it was 65% in 2021).
"We're seeing progress in some indicators that we track, but we're also concerned about a few indicators," said Justin Doyle, JRA's Director of Community Conservation. "While we're making progress there is reason to be concerned about some indicators."
Doyle said among the areas that saw improvement were investments in wastewater treatment facilities cutting down on pollution going into the water, plus improvements in tidewater quality and underwater grasses.
Among the areas of concern was surveyors not finding any trace of a historic fish in the James.
"Zero American shad were on the survey conducted earlier this year, which is very concerning. We're working to push forward an American shad rescue plan that'll be coming out here in the near future," said Doyle.
He added another concern is about the amount of sediment flowing into the river during heavy rainfall.
"When we have a heavy rainfall event, especially here in Richmond, come down to the river and the river is the color of chocolate milk and that is sediment pollution, you're basically seeing sediment pollution in the river and so, that's not great," said Doyle. "We've got a long way to go to ensure that dirt and other things are not going into the river, so that we can improve that sediment pollution indicator as well as our stormwater pollution control indicator."
Among the ways Doyle said the JRA is working to address that is working with and encouraging landowners or localities with riverside properties to build streamside forests known as a riparian buffer.
"Our Riparian Buffer Program is a program that we're very invested in working with landowners, farmers, Soil and Water Conservation Districts. By working with them we're able to, in some cases, fence livestock out from the river and then once livestock are excluded from the river, we're able to come back and plant trees and shrubs in place and restore that riparian buffer area with the intention of reducing pollution going into the river."
But Doyle said, residents further inland can do their part to help reduce sediment polution as well.
"Things like rain gardens and conservation, landscaping, even installing a rain barrel. These are things that people can do at home to improve the health of the river."
Doyle hopes that in the two years until the next report card investments will continue to be made in improving the river's health.
"A healthy James is super important to wildlife that depends on it for habitat and for sustenance. It's also important to humans. Over 7 million people visited Riverside parks in 2021 and 2022," said Doyle.
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