Water Quality in Southern Accomack County Watersheds

Abstract

Expansion of poultry grow out houses in Accomack County, VA has raised concerns for water quality impacts both seaside and bayside where harvesting marine resources and aquaculture operations may be affected. The dust and litter from the poultry houses are potential sources of nitrogen, phosphorous, and fecal contamination to watersheds and receiving waters. Siting regulations, storm water controls, and management of litter storage and handling are designed to limit these impacts, yet no analysis has been implemented to verify the efficacy of these protective measures. This investigation sampled watersheds after a 2 week dry period prior to a storm event and immediately after the rain event in July 2018, and later in November 2018 after a month of continuous light rainy wet weather resulting in water saturated soils but no major rainfall. Samples were processed for Total Enterococcus fecal indicators, dissolved ammonia, total nitrogen and total phosphorous

    Similar works