Watershed Newsletter -October 2021-www.pwswcd.org

Time to Give Our Waterways a Treat

Tricks in the Fall that Spring Clean Water Quality

263 voluteers collected close to 2,000 lbs of debris from Prince William County Waterways

Click link for more: Results of the +25 Miles Occoquan River Cleanup by the Prince William Trails and Steams Coalition (PWTSC) and the Conservation District Water Quality Partners

Thanks to all the Amazing Volunteers!

Special thanks to Participating Volunteer Groups Angels Cleanup Group Belmont Bay Paddlers Troop 1363 Troop 1364 Troop 1607 Troop 295 Girls Scout Junior troop 18081 Northern Virginia Geocaching Organization Merrimac Farm Master Naturalists Church of the Latter-Day Saints (Lake Ridge) Student Volunteers Representing George Mason University – Sustainability and Advocacy Students Potomac HS Forest Park HS Osbourn Park HS Woodbridge HS Gar-field HS Antietam ES German Foreign Exchange Student

Virginia Department of Forestry (VDOF) offers the Conservation District $2,000 as Tree Grant to promote water quality awareness in Prince William County and its School System. T. Clay Wood, Marumsco Hills, and Kilby Elementary Schools will benefit from this grant with over 20 native trees planted on their school grounds as part of the District's Meaningful Watershed Education Experience “MWEE” program. Thanks to the Virginia Department of Forestry!

Promote Science and Research around PWC Waterways with the 'Clean Swell' App! Join the science community to promote citizen science, research and water quality awareness in Prince William County. Explore the Clean Swell App provided by Ocean Conservancy and record your data from any cleanup location across Prince William County. Get the free download "Clean Swell" App Land Cleanup <Enter Group Name <: "PWSWCD" Enter your data as you collect litter. Have fun promoting Water Quality Awareness in PWC. Get free cleanup supplies from the Conservation District @ [email protected]

Water Quality Volunteers Make a Difference!  Together, We Can Make A Change! To adopt a waterway or pond, Contact; [email protected] Video on Plastic Awareness https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rh4r15a-su4&t=15s Marine Debris Project - Prince William Soil and Water Conservation District

Community Educational Outreach: Celebrating Diversity & Embracing Unity

Supervisor Margaret Angela Franklin of Woodbridge District with the Conservation District at the Inaugural Community Fair; 'Celebrating Diversity & Embracing Unity', sponsored by the Prince William County Police Department.

You Made a Difference in Our Waterways! Adopt-A-Stream/Pond/River Program Angels Cleanup (Occoquan watershed) Belmont Bay Paddlers (Belmont Bay) Bull Run Protectors ( Bull Run Watershed Friends of the Square (Bull Run Watershed) Lyon's Family (Broad Run Watershed Micron Technology Inc. (Bull Run Watershed/Broad Run) Merrimac Master Naturalists (Neabsco Watershed) Manassas 1st Ward, Church of Jesus Christ of the Latterday Saints (Russia Branch, Bull Run Watershed) Leopold's Preserve and The Villages of Piedmont II HOAs (Broad Run Watershed)

Plastic Pollution Awareness in PWC led by the Merrimac Farm Master Naturalists under the District's Floatable Monitoring program. Kudos!

Plastic floatable items; a growing concern in PWC waterways!

Plastic wrappers, plastic bags, plastic bottles and facial masks show an increasing trend in Prince William County waterways in the 2021 Fiscal Year Floatable Monitoring Report.

PWC Communities for Clean Waterways & Ponds Kudos to Leopold's Preserve and the Villages of Peidmont II HOAs!

Kudos to all the amazing volunteers for a successful cleanup and water quality awareness event in the Broad Run watershed in the Gainesville area organized by Leopold's Preserve, and the Villages of Peidmont II HOAs!

Special thanks to the support of Bull Run Mountains Conservancy !

More Volunteers Needed for the Chemical Monitoring program

Thanks to all the amazing Conservation District Water Quality Monitors and volunteers. With the mission to promote clean waterways in PWC, the District gets an additional professional YSI water meter to collect chemical data in PWC waterways. This program follows the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality's (DEQ) data standards and supports the Chesapeake Bay Monitoring Cooperative (CMC) database with the following parameters; conductivity, pH, temperature, Dissolved Oxygen (DO) and turbidity. Become a Citizen Scientist under the Conservation District and promote the Biological and Chemical monitoring programs . For more information, contact [email protected]

'One-Time-Pond Cleanup' Program The Conservation District Adds a New Water Quality program

This new 'One-Time-Pond Cleanup" program under the Conservation District is an add-on to the water quality programs to prevent the transformation of Prince William County stormwater ponds into trash mines. Stormwater ponds cleanup is a great challenge especially with vegetation. The 'One-Time-Pond Cleanup' program will promote and support more ponds cleanup in PWC in the fall and spring. Volunteers can now impact the ecological health of any pond of interest in the fall or spring. Join the Conservation District for a one-time pond cleanup with no other commitments. The Conservation District is also working on getting kayak (s) to support the needs of this new program and its volunteers.

Biological Monitoring Special Thanks to: The Master Gardeners Water Quality team @ Catharpin, Little Bull Run Northern Virginia Community Collage Environmental Science Students @ Bull Run

The Conservation District gets an add-on to its Virginia Save Our Streams list of Certified Trainers! Congratulations to Jessica McCaulley for joining the NOVA Certified Trainers to support the growing number of volunteers under the Conservation District's Water Quality Monitoring program. To join the certification list to become a Certified Virginia Save Our Stream Monitor, RSVP to Jess at [email protected]

Some upcoming Events

Water Quality Monitoring at Ben Lomond Park -Bull Run Watershed Time: 10am -12.30pm Saturday, November 6

Join Jess McCaulley at this outdoor learning site along the Bull Run trail at the Historic Ben Lomond/Splash Down Water Park in Manassas. Volunteers will be meeting at the picnic area close to the sports field. RSVP to Jess at [email protected]

To register this cleanup visit: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSekqmd0dmo3h7u1eZAMQUcJNjUHcOEEqtR2V8UtCZdSa8GfjA/viewform

Thanks again for making a difference! Prince William Soil & Water Conservation District is funded by Prince William County Public Works Department, Stormwater Management Branch, and through financial and administrative assistance provided by the Virginia Soil and Water Conservation Board, and the Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Soil and Water Conservation. Programs, activities and employment opportunities are available to all people regardless of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, or political affiliation. Prince William Soil and Water Conservation District is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. PWSWCD,  8850 Rixlew Lane , Manassas, VA 20109, Ph.: 571-379-7514 ,Fax: 571-379-8305

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