What To Do About Our Doah

It was the perfect day to paddle the Shenandoah River in Page County. It was  a fine August day, with the Old Town Canoe carrying a blanket, lunch, and cold beer. We watched the fish jumping and the birds working their way up and down the river. At one point, we heard the faint strains of music. “Someone’s having a party,“ I said “Sounds like a good one,” my 
companion said. 

As we made our way down river, the music grew louder. We heard shouts of joy and laughter. As we rounded a bend, we saw a hundred or more people in the water. There were people in rubber ducks, small rafts, kayaks, and all manner of water toys — clinging near the bank as a band blasted some of the most energetic music I’ve ever heard on the water. We had wandered into Doah Fest. It was an amazing scene. So what could we do but paddle in and listen? We took out and explored the scene on land. There were kids with painted faces playing, shirtless men rocking to the music, and a lot of romance going on. 

We might have stayed well into the evening, but we had to make the final shuttle of the day. When we got on the bus, we saw other partiers with their deflated watercraft, one of which was a giant turtle. There was a general chatter of excitement as the party continued the several miles back to our starting point.

It was an awesome time. But in many ways, it was just another day on the Shenandoah. As long as there have been weekends, people have flocked to the river to paddle, fish, and pass the time away. That’s our river.

The Shenandoah River means many things to different people. The Valley, once the American bread basket, is still largely agricultural. It’s also been a place of industry. Some of those industries have left lasting impacts, including high levels of mercury that linger today in some parts of the river. And the river hasn’t been immune to the impact of its largest economic force, farming.

Runoff from farm fields, particularly fertilizer, continues to impact the river through annual algae blooms. Still, things have improved a lot as farming practices have changed over the years. There was a time when seeing cattle in the river was a common sight. Now, says Shenandoah Riverkeeper Mark Frondorf, the number of farms that allow cattle into the river is down to the single digits.

Hundreds of farmers have implemented practices that both protect the river and improve their economic prospects. One of the most notable has been working with local agencies and nonprofits to install miles of forest buffers along the river and its tributaries to filter runoff. Farmers have also become much more targeted in their application of fertilizers and other inputs, as advancements in soil science help guide decisions about what the soil can actually absorb and use. There is much to applaud as well as more progress to be made.

The Shenandoah is the drinking water supply for several towns in the Valley, including Berryville and other Clarke County communities. And the demand for water is growing every year, including from counties miles from the river. Upgrades in wastewater treatment have helped the river. The water coming from the Berryville plant, for example, is cleaner than the pre-treated water going into the drinking-water intake. You could drink it!

Despite the progress, the river is facing new challenges. Changes in precipitation patterns mean that summers bring long periods of drought punctuated by deluge. The amount of annual rainfall hasn’t changed drastically, but when and how it comes sure has. The annual droughts strain local water supplies, already stressed in some counties due to exploding residential growth. Rapid conversion from farmland to impervious surfaces like parking lots, poorly planned solar fields, and warehouses in some counties have made stormwater management a looming threat to progress. Data centers suck up water and overload infrastructure.

Clarke County has done a lot right. We have water recharge areas, a successful land conservation program, and sound planning. Still, we’re not immune to what goes on upstream or the growing demand from outlying counties. There are a lot questions.

Are we adequately planning for future water needs? Should we be acting now to plan for removing PFAS from water supplies? What can we do about the Commonwealth’s refusal to regulate PFAS-contaminated biosolids applied to farm fields? Should we improve the way we alert recreational users of the Shenandoah when E. coli readings are high? What can we expect from the Commonwealth (to which many have opined, “not much)?

The river is part of our culture and heritage. How can we face new challenges while continuing the improvements 
on older ones?

We look forward to grappling with these questions with articles over the next year. Have a concern? Email editor@clarkeva.com.

— David Lillard