Looney Creek TMDL
Looney Creek TMDL (Total Maximum Daily Load)
Looney Creek is near Buchanan, Virginia within the James River Basin. The Looney Creek watershed is approximately 40,000 acres almost entirely within Botetourt County. The major land use in this watershed is forest. The estimated human population within the Looney Creek watershed is 4,116.
The Clean Water Act (CWA) that became law in 1972 requires that all U.S. streams, rivers, and lakes meet certain water quality standards. The CWA also requires that states conduct monitoring to identify polluted waters or those that do not meet standards. Through this required program, the state of Virginia has found that many stream segments do not meet state water quality standards for protection of the five beneficial uses: recreation, aquatic life, wildlife, fishing/shellfishing, and drinking.
Looney Creek does not meet the current bacteria water quality standard.
In fulfilling the state’s requirement for the development of a TMDL IP, a framework has been established for reducing E. coli levels, and achieving the water quality goals for the Looney Creek impaired segment. With successful completion of the IP, Virginia begins the process of meeting these water quality goals, and natural resources will be enhanced.
Looney Creek Watershed Map
Bacterial Source Tracking (BST) is intended to aid in identifying the fecal bacteria sources (human, pets, livestock, or wildlife) of fecal contamination in water bodies. The BST results were used to determine the distribution of fecal bacteria in Looney Creek. All four sources were present in the Looney Creek stream samples.
In developing the Looney Creek TMDL Implementation Plan, assessments were done to target the areas where installation would result in the greatest return in water quality improvement. The main two areas we are currently targeting, along with the cost-share programs associated with each, are described in more detail in the links below.