Background on Richmond's Water Supply

City of Richmond Department of Public Utilities


Here's the DPU's 2005 assessment of the drinking water in the Richmond area:
http://www.ci.richmond.va.us/Departments/publicutilities/docs/WaterQuality2005.pdf

Interestingly to note is that the amount of water being pumped has increased since 1999 (based on a brochure Dr. Forsyth has given me) and that Richmond's water supply is 100% up to US water standards. The DPU's website is; http://www.ci.richmond.va.us/DPU/

-The PDF is 4 pages long-

CBP (Chesapeake Bay Program)
http://www.chesapeakebay.net/
The CBP provides a wealth of knowledge about watersheds. A watershed is essentially a group of rivers, streams, etc. which feed into a larger body of water. My study observes the James River Watershed (near the bottom of the map) which eventually feeds into the Chesapeake Bay. As you can see the large extent of the watershed means large regions as well as local communities have a responsibility to preserve this natural feature.


Lets zoom into the James....

Richmond is in the Middle, so lets get closer


Zoom into Richmond..


Just to give you an idea of how this map relates to my current location, The University of Richmond is on the border of Henrico County and Richmond (upper portion of this map). Besides these maps, the CBP also provides valuable data regarding the James River Watershed.

Here are two charts, the one on the left is in reference to toxic releases from 1989-1999 while the right discusses the mode of pollutants affecting the James River Watershed in 1999. The actual amount of pollutants is near 3,000,000 lbs.

Toxic Releases 1989-1999

Goals and 1st Day Update

Ok, here is my first post regarding my research. Today I met with my faculty advisor/mentor Dr.Forsyth about our research project. While we have been meeting for numerous weeks before the closure of the Spring Term 06, today was our first day of the project itself. Needless to say, I am both excited and motivated to make this project a success.

The first thing we did today was to get a whiteboard and essentially plot out our goals and expectations for the project. As we speak I am in the Jepson lab room getting acquainted with my new lab for the summer. Below is the basic layout of our goals;
____________________________________________________
Immediate Goals:
- Generate Questions for Survey
- 1st Day Discussion with Professor Forsyth *
- More Accurate Timetable

Goals:
- Published Paper
- Observe Phenomena
- Report for CCE / Presentation (Jepson and CCE)
- Observe the Watershed (James River, streams, lakes, brooks, etc.)
- Gain Information from the CBF (Chesapeake Bay Foundation), CBP (Chesapeake Bay Program), DPU Richmond (Department of Public Utilities), Adopt a Stream

Action:
- Survey (phone and door to door)
- Physical Surveys
- Blog *
- Photo Journal
- Water Testing
- Contact Environmental Organizations
- Data Analysis
- Review of Literature

* Indicates Completed
________________________________________________________

My next course of action is to generate the survey questions. Of particular interest is an experimental condition, which will be revealed upon completion of the project, which will provide insight into the concept of social identification and individuals and communities commitment to environmental policies and action.

Communication with environmental organizations will be accomplished during the next few days. Hopefully this will provide with with additional data about the watershed as well as means to assess water quality. Through the nonprofit CBP, or Chesapeake Bay Program, I have obtained a thirty page report on how to conduct a successful physical survey. A physical survey is a interesting approach to gauging the water quality of the watershed. The main objective of this type of survey is being able to judge the quality of a body of water without any testing equipment. While I will not go into specifics now, it's a long yet surprisingly simple process for ordinary citizens to do, I will at a later date.

Also, I will be working to make this blog a easy way to keep up to date with my research and provide significant insight not only to the project, but to research experience here at UR (University of Richmond). Check back later to find a link regarding the social and living experience here.

I may have another update later today so stay posted!

Greetings!

Hey everyone, my name is Garrett Schlein and I'm currently a rising junior at the University of Richmond. This summer I am working in conjunction with the Center for Civic Engagement and the Jepson School to research how individuals and collectives perceive and implement environmental policy. In particular, my studies will focus on the James River Watershed and the greater metropolitan Richmond vicinity.

The purpose of this blog is to give you insight into my studies, progress, and findings. I hope to create a photo journal as well to give you a first hand glimpse at my studies and the watershed. I will be updating over the course of the summer so check back frequently.