Healthy Waters Initiative Announced
By: Susan VanEpps
It began in 2011 with a news-making headline: Trump National Golf Club in Loudoun had removed 500 trees along the scenic water’s edge of the Potomac River. The controversy that followed led to last week, when the Loudoun Soil and Water Conservation District announced the new Healthy Waters Foundation, supported in part by the Trump Organization. The goal for the nonprofit is to set a model for riparian buffer enhancement.
“It’s a history-making opportunity. We have a $2.1 million endowment and we’re ready to hit the ground running,” said Chris Simmons, vice chair of the Loudoun Soil and Water District, and now chairman of the board of directors of the Healthy Waters Foundation. The riparian buffer improvement program will be a completely voluntary offering from Healthy Waters to the 118 owners of 162 parcels along the Potomac River.
The nonprofit organization has been in development for a year, and seeks to help repair shoreline erosion and improve water quality through the planting of suitable grasses and trees. Virginia Tech has signed on to monitor the program’s effectiveness and complete a 10-year best management practices study. So far, the program launch has gone well.
“It’s hard to believe we could get owners to voluntarily agree to participate, but we already have 51 percent of the mileage along the river committed,” said Simmons. He added that participants in the program will receive guidance on how to best improve their property edge based on owner’s desires. “We’re not preaching a one-size-fits-all approach,” stating that buffers can be effective using either grass or tree plantings. “If you want to make your buffer better, we’re here to help.”
Last month, the Potomac Conservancy released its State of the River Report, rating the Potomac River a “D” on a grade scale. The report added that pollutants from land runoff were a major contributing factor to pollution in the waterway, which is exactly what Healthy Waters hopes to address.
“Virginia spends hundreds of millions per year on water treatment plants; you can save a lot downstream using filtration upstream,” said Simmons. He adds that the buffers provide additional benefits, including homes for wildlife and improved property values along the shoreline.
Healthy Waters hopes to complete a buffer corridor from the Loudoun/Fairfax line to Harpers Ferry, and is in the process of partnering with both public organizations and landowners bordering Loudoun, including Harpers Ferry National Park, the C&O Canal in Montgomery County and the Virginia Fish and Wildlife Service. In time, they hope to be a model.
“It’s not just for us; Loudoun is the pilot county; consider this Phase 1. We’re seeing what works well here, then we hope to spread and replicate our plan throughout the state and nation, all on a voluntary basis.”
And as for Trump? Let’s just say he is invested in the program’s success.
“When we met it started off a bit confrontationally. But the more we talked, we realized we had more in common on environmental issues. By the end of this program, Trump National will have the best grass-only riparian buffer in the state, if not the nation.”