This project is a study of the water quality and land us e changes that have occurred in the Birch Creek watershed in Halifax County, Virginia from 1987 to 1998. The purpose of t his project i s to identify water quality trends and potential linkages to land use changes during the time frame of the study. The information was obtained by analyzing data collected by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. The data had been gathered and archived, but not previously examined for trends or causal factors. Through the analysis, definite increasing and decreasing trends in the concentrations of fecal coliform, nitrogen compounds , and phosphorus compounds were discovered. Also , it was determined that clear cutting in the Birch Creek watershed had tripled in the last twelve years and that forestry and agricultural activities in the water shed had a significant effect on this system \u27s water quality
