WATERSHED IMPLEMENTATION PLAN (WIP)

Restoring the Chesapeake Bay

PROJECT SUMMARY

Communities throughout the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, along with federal and state government, local government, nonprofit organizations, farmers, and private businesses are making significant progress restoring and protecting the health of local waterways and the bay.

On December 29th, 2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL), a historic and comprehensive cleanup plan to guide federal, state, and local actions as their communities clean up the Chesapeake Bay and the connected stream, creeks, and rivers.

Specifically in Virginia, the TMDL calls for a 20.5% reduction in Nitrogen, 25.2% reduction in Phosphorous and 20.8% reduction in Sediment delivered to the bay. The objective is to have clean up practices, known as best management practices or BMPs, in place by 2025 to reach the goal of a clean Chesapeake Bay and local waterways that meet water quality standards.

What is a Watershed Implementation Plan

Watershed Implementation Plans or WIPs, are the roadmap for how Bay states and the District of Columbia, in partnership with federal and local governments, will attain the Chesapeake Bay TMDL. Recently, Bay states worked with local stakeholders to develop the third phase their WIPs. The Phase III WIPs include an update of state and federal strategies and the identification of new pollutant reduction strategies with a special focus on sustained local engagement and strategies.

Helpful Terms

Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL): A calculation that determined the amount of a pollutant that can occur in a waterway, but still meet water quality standards and ensure clean water

Local Area Planning Goals (LAPGs): Pollutant reduction goals established for local communities

Best Management Practices (BMPs): Restoration activities and projects (planned and implemented) to improve local water quality and meet pollution reduction targets established in the Bay TMDL

Watershed Map

chesapeake-bay-watershed
DEQ WIP III Website

WIP 2020 Contract Submission Materials for DEQ Can be found here

Learn more

Supporting Documents

Mission: The Love Your Watershed campaign is designed to motivate residents of the greater Charlottesville area to reduce their impact on waterways and ultimately improve local water quality and ecosystems. The campaign will do this by encouraging exploration of local waters and watersheds, showing how and why our waterways struggle, and facilitating action on a personal and community level.

Due to known impairments in our local waterways, the content of this campaign will especially focus on stormwater runoff and sources of bacteria and sediment pollution.

Rivanna Stormwater Education Partnership website:
rivanna-stormwater.org

#LoveYourWatershed website:
rivannastormwater.org/additional-resources/love-your-watershed/