Virginia TMDL Study Looking at Back Bay, Chesapeake Bay Watershed
Virginia Beach is learning firsthand that TMDLs extend beyond the Chesapeake Bay. Local creeks and rivers like the tributaries flowing into Back Bay and the North Landing River have reaches that are impaired. The source(s) of the impairment will be determined during the assessment process and TMDLs will be calculated for the pollutants of concern. Such pollutants could include bacteria, total dissolved solids and sediment. The TMDLs will identify the amounts of the pollutants that can be discharged to the effected water-bodies while allowing the creeks and rivers to return to unimpacted status. Many other water bodies both within and outside the Chesapeake Bay watershed have had TMDLs assigned. The Chesapeake Bay TMDL may be the one that is most often heard about and will likely be the most costly to implement, but local governments and industries across the Commonwealth, indeed across the country, are dealing with the effects of TMDLs...
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