Just around the riverbend

Nature Conservancy redesigning Harrisonburg stream system to improve water quality

By Shayna Strang, staff writer
Posted on September 27, 2007

The caution signs around Purcell Park are about to come down.

Starting this winter, the Nature Conservancy will work with the Canaan Valley Institute to help redesign the current Harrisonburg stream system to improve water quality. For approximately six weeks, equipment will be brought in to reshape the bends that have been straightened with time. The project, funded by the Virginia Aquatic Resources Trust Fund, will also include the planting of extra trees, shrubs and flowers surrounding the banks to create additional help towards the stream’s cleanliness.

 “We will return the stream to a natural channel design that should mitigate the erosion that is occurring,” Lee Foerster, parks and recreation director for the City of Harrisonburg, said.

The project will include both Blacks Run and Seiberts Creek, located in Purcell Park off of Monument Avenue. These streams have been selected for their high levels of bacteria and sediment. According to the Department of Environmental Quality standards, Blacks Run is presently considered impaired.

“The bacteria levels make contact with the water for people and pets unsafe,” said Jared Stoltzfus, stream health coordinator for the City.

Recent fish kills that have been occurring in the Shenandoah River are partially due to sediment and bacteria overloads similar to what going on in the streams at Purcell Park, he said. Because of the sediment clogging the bottom of the waterways, many types of aquatic life cannot survive.

“There are a number of state, local, and national organizations working together on this,” Stoltzfus said. “If all tributaries like Blacks Run were restored in the Valley, the Shenandoah would be much healthier.”

In the meantime, residents can do their part to prevent further damage to the streams. This includes properly disposing of trash, picking up after dogs, maintaining vehicles in the parking lots and using the fertilizer in the yards surrounding the park correctly.

“Things that we should be doing, trying to limit the amount of pollution and waste getting into the stream,” Foerster said. “It will be a joint effort of landowners surrounding the stream.”

When construction around the streams begins, a fence will be placed 30 feet to 50 feet around the area for the extent of the project, Foerster said. After the project is completed, sections that have been replanted will need extra time off-limits to residents to prevent damage to the plants.

For park goers, the results will only be positive.

“It will definitely make the park more attractive,” Bridgewater resident Bill Walton said.

Eventually each group involved with the project hopes to bring crayfish and the native brook trout back to streams, and make the stream accessible to humans and animals to play in, Stoltzfus said.

Senior Rachel Small, who often brings her small beagle to enjoy the park, agreed.

“For the animals, in general, it would be a lot nicer if it was clean,” she said. “It looks kind of gross.”