Headwaters to the Sound
Beginning in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Montgomery County, Virginia, the Roanoke River runs from southwest Virginia to northeastern North Carolina over approximately 410 miles. The Roanoke River Basin drains much of the coastal plain from the eastern edge of the Appalachian Mountains southeast through the Carolina Piedmont region and on to Albemarle Sound. A majority of the middle course of the Roanoke River has been impounded to form a chain of reservoirs. The entire watershed, the Roanoke River Basin, is comprised of over 9, 500 square miles and contains the Roanoke, Dan, Smith, Staunton, and Cashie Rivers as well as hundreds of tiny streams and minor tributaries.
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The Universal Threat
One of the greatest threats to the Roanoke River Basin and, indeed, the entire watershed is uncontrolled water run-off which drains directly into the River at too many points to mention between the Headwaters and Smith Mountain Lake.
In March of 2008, Scientific American reported that “[t]he water in brooks, streams and creeks from Michigan to Puerto Rico carries a heavy load of pollutants, particularly nitrates from fertilizers. These nitrogen and oxygen molecules that crops need to grow eventually make their way into rivers, lakes and oceans, fertilizing blooms of algae that deplete oxygen” and extinguish aquatic life. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the bulk of the pollutants noted by SA comes from storm water runoff. One group is leading the charge to bring to light the dangers associated with storm water runoff and intentional or unintentional sewage discharge into our Nation’s waterways: Act for Healthy Rivers.
AHR notes that . . .
Every single day, especially when it rains, sewage pours into our waterways. Shocking but true: Overflows of pollution from our nation’s crumbling sewer systems dump 850 billion gallons of sewage annually. It is simply unacceptable to allow raw or poorly treated human waste, laden with potentially-deadly pathogens, to enter our rivers, streams and lakes.
In 2002, the National Research Council found that “about 29 million gallons of oil enter the oceans around North America each year as a result of human activities. Of that, the largest share, 15.6 million gallons, comes from rivers and runoff, largely from such things as street runoff, industrial waste, municipal wastewater and wastewater from refineries” (emphasis ours).
The Roanoke River Basin starts near Roanoke in the Blue Ridge Mountains and flows east/southeast through the Piedmont and Coastal Plain into the Atlantic Ocean near the Outer banks of North Carolina, at Albemarle Sound. Almost 64% of the drainage area of the entire Roanoke River System is in the Commonwealth.
The watershed encompasses almost 10, 000 square miles–approximately 6500 of them are in Virginia.
NEXT INSTALLMENT COMING SOON.