The following is a guest post from a gentleman now retired from the DEQ:
GREENFIELD WATER WATCH
Streams • Tributaries • Wetlands • Greenfield Lake
Citizens can help document water conditions during Project Raspberry construction
Major land disturbance is underway at Project Raspberry at the Botetourt Center at Greenfield. This is an important time to begin building an independent photographic record of water conditions around Greenfield.
Project Raspberry’s permit materials state that surface waters on the site drain south and west through unnamed tributaries toward Rulman Branch and Tinker Creek. The project also contains mapped streams and wetlands.
Citizens can help by documenting conditions in streams, tributaries, wetlands and Greenfield Lake before and after significant rainfall.
The objective is not to decide whether a violation has occurred. It is to create accurate evidence so that unusual conditions can be examined by the County, DEQ, or others qualified to evaluate them.
Don’t assume someone else is going to document it
Government inspectors and the permit holder have responsibilities, but an independent public record can be valuable.
A photograph taken before a storm cannot be recreated afterward. The same location photographed after rainfall can provide a meaningful comparison.
If you have the ability and want to participate, this is something you can do yourself — safely, lawfully and objectively.
Start before the rain
Find a safe observation point on public property, a public trail, a safe public right-of-way, or private property where you have permission.
The County confirms that Greenfield Recreation Park is a public recreation facility with trails and fishing, and the County identifies the Greenfield Trail System, including the 1.17-mile Cherry Blossom Trail and 3.10-mile Greenfield Recreation Trail.
At each useful location, drop a pin on your phone. Give it a simple name such as “Station A.”
Take a wide photograph showing the surroundings and closer photographs showing the water or wetland. A short video can also be helpful.
Record the date, time, location, weather and whether the photograph represents a stream, tributary, wetland or lake.
Then return to the same location and camera angle during or after significant rainfall.
Watch streams and tributaries
Look for substantial changes in clarity or color, unusually turbid water, sediment plumes, muddy runoff visibly entering the water, new deposits of silt or mud, erosion, or significant differences between upstream and downstream conditions.
Where possible, photograph both upstream and downstream.
But remember: muddy water after rainfall does not by itself prove that Project Raspberry caused it or that a violation occurred.
Photograph what you see. Don’t guess at the cause.
Watch the wetlands too
Wetlands deserve the same attention as streams.
If a mapped or apparent wetland can be lawfully observed, establish a before-rain photographic baseline.
After rainfall, look for sediment-laden runoff entering the wetland, new sediment deposits, sediment coating vegetation, erosion channels leading toward the wetland, disturbed vegetation, altered drainage patterns, or apparent construction disturbance.
Do not enter a wetland to obtain photographs.
And don’t assume that muddy water or standing water in a wetland proves a violation. Wetlands naturally hold and convey water.
The useful evidence is the change from the documented baseline and the location and apparent direction from which that change occurred.
Watch Greenfield Lake
Greenfield Lake should be a specific part of the monitoring effort.
The public Greenfield recreation and trail system gives citizens an opportunity to establish repeatable observation locations in the park area. The County identifies trails, fishing and other public recreation at Greenfield Recreation Park.
Photograph the lake before significant rainfall.
Pay particular attention to any lawfully accessible inflow areas.
After rainfall, return to the same locations and look for visible sediment plumes entering the lake, unusual discoloration or turbidity, new shoreline sediment deposits, or a noticeable difference between water around an inflow and water farther into the lake.
Take both wide lake photographs and closer photographs of anything unusual.
Again, don’t attribute the condition to Raspberry merely because you see it. Document the condition and location.
What makes a photograph valuable
For every observation, record:
- Station/location and dropped map pin; date and time; stream, tributary, wetland or lake; before/during/after rain; approximate rainfall conditions; upstream/downstream relationship if known; exactly what you observed; and whether it was reported to the County or DEQ.
Stick to observable facts.
Don’t say:
“Raspberry polluted this wetland.”
write:
“Photographed at Station B at 4:15 p.m., approximately one hour after heavy rainfall. Brown, turbid water was entering the wetland from the north. My photograph from the same location before the rain showed substantially clearer water.”
That is much more useful evidence.
Keep the originals
Do not rely on Facebook to preserve your evidence.
Keep the original full-resolution photographs and videos exactly as your phone, camera or drone recorded them.
If you crop, brighten, annotate or otherwise modify a photograph for posting, preserve the untouched original separately.
Keep the original drone recording rather than only the edited clip.
Save your dropped map pin or a screenshot showing the observation location.
Facebook can help — but Facebook isn’t the complaint system
Public posting can help establish a chronology and alert other citizens.
Use:
#GreenfieldWaterWatch
A useful post would identify the station/location, type of water, date and time, rainfall conditions, what was observed and whether it was reported.
But if something appears significant, also report it to the appropriate agency.
Botetourt County’s Stormwater Management program handles erosion/sediment and stormwater concerns. The County’s published number is 540-928-2070. Botetourt County Stormwater Management
The Virginia DEQ Blue Ridge Regional Office can be reached at 540-562-6700.
Ask for a report or complaint number when available. Ask whether an inspection will be conducted and follow up afterward for the resulting inspection findings and corrective actions.
Email significant evidence to DataCenterDox@proton.me
If you obtain photographs, video, drone footage, inspection reports or other information that appears important, preserve the originals and provide copies to DataCenterDox@proton.me for examination and possible further action.
You do not need to determine whether something constitutes a permit violation.
Your job is simpler:
Observe it. Photograph it. Locate it. Preserve it. Report it.
We can evaluate potentially significant evidence against the permits, approved plans, environmental requirements and other project records and determine whether further investigation or action is warranted.
Why careful documentation matters
The Project Raspberry record involves streams and wetlands as well as construction stormwater controls. The applicant’s materials identify extensive aquatic resources within the project area and proposed impacts requiring separate VWP and federal permitting.
That makes a reliable contemporaneous record potentially useful if questions later arise about sediment releases, wetland conditions, erosion-control performance, drainage changes, compliance with approved plans, or effects on receiving waters.
The key word is reliable.
Don’t trespass. Don’t interfere with construction. Don’t exaggerate. Don’t identify a source unless the evidence establishes it.
Just document what is actually happening.
GREENFIELD WATER WATCH
Streams • Tributaries • Wetlands • Greenfield Lake
Observe. Document. Preserve. Report. Follow up.
