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Elizabeth River Watershed Contaminant Conceptual Model Project
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Paradise Creek and the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River
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With a history of industrial use dating back into the 1600's, it's no surprise that portions of the Elizabeth River watershed have been documented as the most polluted river on the Chesapeake Bay. In fact, sediment from the Southern Branch has been reported to have the highest contamination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the world. Some sections of the river are virtually devoid of life. Highly prevalent deformities and cancer in fish and shellfish in other areas are correlated with the degree of sediment PAH contamination.
Catastrophic events at wood treatment facilities along the Southern Branch have led to substantial releases of PAHs into the river. But aging storm sewer systems, releases from other industries along the river, plus significant loss of wetland habitats, have collectively resulted in a degraded, biologically impoverished system.
Despite widespread adverse impacts in certain reaches of the Elizabeth River, there are pockets of wetland habitats that do provide key nursery grounds for commercial and recreational species. Plus, there are several restoration efforts underway to expand upon these habitats and generally improve conditions. These efforts are just the initial, limited steps of the enormous effort that will be required to return the river to a healthy, productive, vital system that will provide economic, recreational, and educational benefits to all who experience the Elizabeth River.
However, to achieve these objectives, the application of the limited resources available, in a way that they will have the maximum possible benefit, requires a decision framework that:
- provides a holistic, consistent watershed scale view of issues;
- can be scalable to allow for analysis at different geographic levels;
- is well founded on actual data to describe existing conditions; and
- allows for analyzing predictions.
This watershed project includes a data collaboration between federal, state, and local partners. It is designed as a decision support tool for clean-up and restoration efforts in the Elizabeth River. Using a common web browser, users are able to access an interactive database and view information through an Internet Mapping Site (IMS). This grants users exceptional access to information that they may otherwise not be capable of exploring. This information will allow more economical and technically efficient project planning and execution.
Other Elizabeth River related documents:
- Ecological Risk Assessment for Atlantic Wood Industries, April 1992
This Ecological Risk Assessment covers the Atlantic Wood property on the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River, and the associated adjacent aquatic habitat. It is based upon a broad compilation of existing data at the time. It estimates the toxic threat of creosote-related PAHs, PCP, dioxins, and some trace metals, plus incorporates corroborating observations of adverse biological impacts within the river. It also includes a terrestrial food web model of risk.
[Access this document through the Downloads & Publications link below.]
For more information on using this project:
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- Query Manager and MARPLOT An introduction to the Query Manager and MARPLOT applications that are used extensively throughout the ARD watershed projects
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- Online Interactive Maps An introduction to all of the ARD Internet Mapping Sites (IMS), including the Elizabeth River IMS.
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Downloads & Publications:
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- Query Manager and MARPLOT Download the Query Manager and MARPLOT applications
(Software format: Executable File, size: 13.0 M)
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To continue on to the Internet Mapping Site:
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