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DEQ to hold public meeting on Strait Creek water study
MONTEREY - The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality in cooperation with the Central Shenandoah Planning District Commission will host a public meeting on April 22 in Monterey on a water quality study for Strait Creek and West Strait Creek.
The meeting will start at 7 p.m. at the Highland County Modular Conference Center, Spruce Street, Monterey. The purpose of the meeting is to gather information and discuss the study with community members. Refreshments will be provided.
Virginia agencies are working to identify sources of pollution in the Strait Creek watershed. This pollution decreases the quality of the water and limits the diversity and abundance of organisms living on or near the bottom of the stream. West Strait Creek is listed with impaired quality from its head waters in Monterey, and Strait Creek is listed with impaired quality from its confluencewith West Strait Creek.
During the study, DEQ will develop a total maximum daily load, or a TMDL, for Strait Creek and West Strait Creek. A TMDL is the total amount of a pollutant a water body can contain and still meet water quality standards. To restore water quality, pollutant levels have to be reduced to the TMDL amount.
For more information, contact Robert Brent, study coordinator in the DEQ Valley Regional Officein Harrisonburg, by phone at (540) 574-7848, or by e-mail at rnbrent@deq.virginia.gov. Additional information is also available on the DEQ web site at www.deq. virginia.gov/tmdl.
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